MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Moscow has no interest in disclosing the progress of the talks with the US and NATO on security guarantees at this stage, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Wednesday.
"At this stage, we do not want to make this public," the Kremlin spokesman said. "[Russian] concerns can be removed by what is described in two documents (Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees handed over to the US and NATO). They are precise, there are no general phrases," Peskov emphasized. "Everything needs to be perceived as it is written, without double meaning," he noted.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published Russia’s two draft agreements on security guarantees, which Moscow expects from Washington and NATO. The agreements with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization stipulate, among other things, the US-led bloc abandoning its designs on eastward expansion along with denying membership to Ukraine, in addition to restrictions on deploying serious offensive armaments, in particular, nuclear weapons. The sides have already held several rounds of consultations in various formats but have not announced any agreements reached yet.
On January 26, the United States and NATO handed over their written reply to Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees. The US side requested that the texts of these documents should not be published. However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg outlined their basic provisions. These statements suggest that the West has refused to make concessions fundamental for Moscow, but indicated areas for further negotiations.