MOSCOW, December 17. / TASS /. Russia is not ready to discuss compromises relating to the security safeguard proposals, since the positions of the parties have not yet been established, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at a briefing on Friday.
"When they tell us something more or less precise and real about the possible compromises, then we will consider it but not yet. Now, let them read what has been released and submitted to them," the Russian senior diplomat noted.
Ryabkov stated that Russia was not ready to address any compromises, as it was necessary to understand the position of the other side. "<…> We say one thing, and [they] say another. We say that we need security guarantees, but [they] respond: ‘you need to withdraw the troops within your own territory.’ They have not yet said how far <…>," the deputy foreign minister mentioned.
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 Western colleagues had not fulfilled their verbal obligations previously. Earlier, Aide to the Russian President Yury Ushakov said that Moscow handed over to Washington concrete proposals aimed at the development of the legal safeguards for ensuring Russia’s security and preventing NATO from advancing to the east.