MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. The bulk of Moscow’s response to Washington’s reaction to Russia’s proposals on security guarantees has already been shaped, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday in response to a TASS question.
"The basic outlines have been prepared already. The president himself said at a press conference that he had briefed Mr. Macron on our fundamental vision," Peskov pointed out. "There is an overall understanding, but as to when it will be formulated by the head of state, that will take place when he finds it suitable," the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
Peskov noted that the Russian head of state had repeatedly made public statements saying that there were some rational aspects to the US response but they were minor ones, while the issues that Moscow found crucial had been ignored.
On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released draft agreements on the security guarantees that Moscow expects to receive from Washington and NATO. The two accords - one with the US and the other with the Western-led bloc - particularly oblige NATO to cease its eastward expansion, namely to drop plans on granting Ukraine membership, and envisage restrictions on the deployment of serious offensive weapons, including nuclear ones.
The United States and NATO handed their written responses to Russia’s security proposals over to Moscow on January 26, 2022. Washington had asked Moscow not to make the documents public, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg did announce their main provisions. According to their statements, the West refused to give Russia the concessions that it found crucial, but outlined areas for further talks.