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Russian diplomat proposes that US vows not to vote to accept some countries to NATO

Sergey Ryabkov added that, "It would be a simpler path for the US, of course, if the US has enough political will"

MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/. If the US vows it won’t ever vote to accept Ukraine and some other countries to NATO, then Russia will consider this option as an alternative, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday.

"There’s a well-known statement from the Bucharest summit of 2008 that Ukraine and Georgia will be NATO members - that must be ruled out," he said at a meeting of the Valdai discussion club. "That must be replaced by the understanding that won’t ever happen."

"Or, as an alternative, if the US takes on a unilateral commitment in a legally binding form that it will never vote for accepting Ukraine and other countries to NATO, we will be ready to consider that option," he went on to say.

Ryabkov added that, "It would be a simpler path for the US, of course, if the US has enough political will." Russia will urge the US to choose "what has more priority to them: European security or some flawed ideas" that prompted the current crisis, he said.

On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states.

Consultations on the issue took place in Geneva on January 10, followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels on January 12 and a session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council in Vienna on January 13.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that work was underway for a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart Antony Blinken in Geneva on January 21. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the meeting would be extremely important in the context of preparations by the US and NATO to respond to Moscow’s proposals for security guarantees.