Antony Blinken
On Wednesday, Washington gave its response to Russia's demands, a move the Biden administration hopes will lower the tensions with Moscow.
John Sullivan, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, sent the response to the Kremlin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at the State Department, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
"Our responses were fully coordinated with Ukraine and our European allies and partners," he said.
However, it remains unclear whether the document will de-escalate the tense security situation along the Russia-Ukraine border, Blinken told reporters that it includes concerns "about Russia's actions that undermine security, a principled and pragmatic evaluation of the concerns that Russia has raised, and our own proposals for areas where we may be able to find common ground."
The document reiterates Washington's public positions as it has already ruled out Moscow's major requests: that NATO pull back its presence in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, and that Ukraine and Georgia be permanently barred from joining the military alliance.
"We will uphold NATO's open door and that's ... a commitment that we're bound to." Blinken said: "NATO's door is open, it remains open,"
Also, the document suggests "reciprocal transparency measures" regarding force posture in Ukraine, as well as nuclear arms control in Europe. The Biden administration has already made such proposals.
"We make clear that there are core principles that we are committed to uphold and defend, including Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the right of states to choose their own security arrangements and alliances," Mr. Blinken said.
Moscow has also demanded that the U.S. remove nuclear weapons from Europe and withdraw troops and weapons from former Soviet bloc countries that joined the alliance after 1997. Washington has deemed those demands "non-starters.''
The U.S. response "sets out a serious diplomatic path forward should Russia choose it," Blinken said, adding that he expects to speak in the coming days with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, once Russian officials have read the American paper and are "ready to discuss next steps."
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
Politics
-
On December 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of his birthday.
-
The U.S. Embassy responded to the host of the "Həftə" ("Week") program, who once again accused the United States of pursuing an anti-Azerbaijani policy, using undiplomatic language.
-
On Monday, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, who is currently on a working visit to Belgrade, was received by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. According to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs press service, during the meeting, both sides expressed satisfaction with the "strategic partnership between the two countries" and emphasized the importance of mutual high-level visits.
-
On December 23, a meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Serbia took place in Belgrade. During the final press conference, Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric reported that the discussions focused on the development of tourism. "We are strengthening efforts to open direct air routes, as well as economic development and energy," said Djuric. The minister expressed confidence that cooperation between Serbia and Azerbaijan would become even closer and more intensive in the near future.
Leave a review