WASHINGTON, February 2. /TASS/. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will embark on a visit to Europe this month for a meeting with NATO allies to discuss the situation in Ukraine and ongoing negotiations with Russia, Carla Babb, a reporter with Voice of America (the radio station recognized as a foreign agent media in Russia - TASS), announced on her Tweeter account.
"Secretary of Defense Austin will travel to Europe later this month to meet with NATO allies amid tensions with Russia over Ukraine," she Tweeted citing the press secretary of Pentagon.
"Austin will attend the NATO defense ministerial hosted by the NATO secretary general on February 16-17," she added.
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 The US side requested that the texts of these documents should not be published.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.
Recently, Ukraine and some Western countries have been spreading allegations about Russia’s preparations for aggression in Donbass, where Kiev has been engaged in an internal armed confrontation with the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk since 2014.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded," serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have very serious consequences.