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Putin, Belarusian president discuss situation around West’s response to Russia’s proposals

Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko also touched upon "some issues related to future bilateral cooperation"

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus have held a telephone conversation discussing the situation around the US and NATO’s response to Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Saturday.

According to the statement, the parties discussed "the situation around the United States’ and NATO’s reaction to Moscow's proposals to develop long-term international legal security guarantees for Russia." Putin and Lukashenko also touched upon "some issues related to future bilateral cooperation." They "agreed to maintain personal contact," the Kremlin press service added.

Earlier on Saturday, Putin held a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron and is expected to hold a conversation with US President Joe Biden later in the day.

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.

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