MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. Russia and the US will hold the first round of talks on security guarantees in January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the RT TV channel on Wednesday.
"There was a series of talks at the level of foreign policy aides of Russian and US presidents [Yury Ushakov and Jake Sullivan]. And, following the results of yet another contact, organizational modalities of further work were coordinated. It was agreed that at the very beginning of next year, the first round would be a bilateral contact between Russia’s and US’ negotiators, they have already been named, they are acceptable for both sides," he said.
According to the Russian top diplomat, the reaction of his American colleagues to the Russian proposals was "business-like."
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published the draft agreements between Russia and the US on security guarantees and the measures of ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. These drafts were submitted to the Americans at a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry on December 15.