MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. Negotiations on Russia’s initiative of security guarantees will be separated from the existing Russian-US strategic stability talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s Channel One on Thursday.
"It will be a separate direction. Strategic stability is one direction, and the discussion of Russian proposals, laid out in two documents, is a different one," the official said.
When asked whether those negotiations may lead to another meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, Peskov said "it would depend on what they [Russian delegates] will hear" from US negotiators.
According to earlier reports, talks on security guarantees may begin in January 2022.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on NATO to begin substantive talks on reliable long-term security guarantees to Russia. He stressed that Russia needs legally binding guarantees because the West has failed to fulfill its verbal commitments. On December 17, the Russian foreign ministry released two Russian draft agreements in security guarantees from the United States and NATO. They were handed over to the US side on December 15, during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The Geneva-hosted summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden in June yielded an agreement on the resumption of consultations regarding strategic stability. Since then, two rounds of contacts were held - one on June 28 and the other on September 30.
