MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS /. Russia calls on the US to consider Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees with the utmost seriousness, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated at a briefing on Friday.

"We urge the American side to regard the Russian proposals with the utmost seriousness. The global situation remains rather tense, and it is in our best interests to find ways to resolve this [problem]," the senior diplomat noted.

Ryabkov emphasized that according to Moscow’s position, Russia and the US had "a special responsibility for security in Europe" as major nuclear powers. "We are interested in peace and stability on the European continent. Russian President [Vladimir] Putin has repeatedly stated that we do not need conflicts," the senior diplomat assured.

Earlier, Putin called on NATO to launch substantive talks aiming to develop reliable and long-term security guarantees. The head of state emphasized that Russia needed legal safeguards, since the Western colleagues had not fulfilled their verbal obligations previously. On December 15, Aide to the Russian President Yury Ushakov told that Moscow handed over the package of the proposals to US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also mentioned that Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov was going to represent Russia in the talks on the security safeguard proposals.