WASHINGTON, December 8. /TASS/. Yesterday’s virtual summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Joe Biden of the United States, opened up a "good path forward" towards further strengthening Europe’s security, former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller told TASS on Wednesday.

"I noticed that the two sides commented on the meeting somewhat differently: the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan characterized it as ‘useful,’ while the Kremlin read-out characterized it as ‘honest and businesslike.’ In diplo-speak, it seems the Russian side was rather more enthusiastic about the meeting than the US side," the former diplomat noted.

"Nevertheless, I see a good path forward in further efforts to explore how the United States, its NATO allies and partners, and Russia might pursue some new and mutually beneficial steps for European security," Gottemoeller said.

Meanwhile, the American expert stated that neither the US nor NATO were ready to provide Russia with the security safeguards about which President Putin spoke earlier. "The US and NATO will not provide legally binding guarantees that NATO will not enlarge: that would contradict NATO's founding document, the Washington Treaty," the alliance’s former official insisted.

"Nevertheless, all parties should be able to find some ways, through negotiation, to enhance European security for mutual benefit. Success depends, of course, on whether Russia is willing to deescalate its military build-up on the borders of Ukraine," the Stanford University lecturer pointed out.

Gottemoeller served as the Deputy Secretary General of NATO from 2016 to 2019. Prior to that, she was the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the U.S. Department of State. Gottemoeller headed a team of the US negotiators, who, jointly with their Russian colleagues, held talks on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). Most recently, the former diplomat works as a Lecturer at Stanford University in California.