Russia denounces that the US has not responded positively to its main demand

A few hours after the US responded to Russian demands for “security guarantees” by refusing to renounce NATO expansion and include Ukraine within it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has just declared that ” There has been no positive response to the main question» expressed in the package of proposals that Moscow presented on December 17.

According to Lavrov, “the main issue is our clear position on the unacceptable nature of NATO’s continued expansion to the east and the deployment of weapons that could threaten Russian territory.” However, in his words, “there is a reaction that allows one to hope for the start of a serious discussion on secondary issues.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken clearly explained on Wednesday that NATO will not give up admitting new members, according to its “open door” policy, but he extended his hand to Russia in the line of reaching a compromise through “diplomatic means”. to normalize relations and put an end to tensions around Ukraine.

For his part, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, told the press that the written response provided by Washington “cannot be said to have taken our points of view into account or that there is a willingness to address our concerns.” But Peskov assured, however, that Russia “will not rush and will take its time, before responding, to analyze the response received in writing from the United States.”