Chris Lange, FISM News
The White House and NATO on Wednesday sent written proposals in response to Russia’s sweeping demands concerning Eastern Europe this week. Officials say that they are still hoping to resolve the Ukrainian crisis with diplomacy, though both sides appear no closer in negotiations of terms.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded guarantees that NATO won’t expand further east and will keep weapons out of Ukraine, but the U.S. and its NATO allies reiterated that they are unwilling to meet those demands. Instead, they have drawn up new proposals, including a renegotiation of the nuclear treaty between the U.S. and Russia.
Speaking at a State Department news conference Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that the response takes a principled and pragmatic approach to Moscow’s concerns and details a diplomatic path forward, should Putin choose to take it. Blinken also noted that the document will not be made public by the White House because the administration believes “that diplomacy has the best chance to succeed if we provide space for confidential talks.”
“Our actions over the past week have sharpened the choice facing Russia now,” Blinken said. “We’ve laid out a diplomatic path. We’ve lined up steep consequences should Russia choose further aggression. We’ve stepped forward with more support for Ukraine’s security and economy. And we and our allies and partners are united across the board. Now, we’ll continue to press forward and prepare. It remains up to Russia to decide how to respond. We’re ready either way.”
According to The Independent, one Kremlin official said that the proposal “left little room for optimism” that it would lessen tensions along the Ukraine/Russia border.
Named spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed that Moscow responded to the letter on Thursday, saying that the Kremlin would not rush to draw conclusions but that it was clear Russia’s chief security concerns had not been taken into account by Washington. He did, however, say that the secondary concessions could be the “the start of a serious talk”
While Moscow and Western allies have continued security talks this week, Putin has augmented Russia’s military build-up near Ukraine with new drills. Many citizens of Ukraine have indicated that they are preparing for war as all signs are pointing towards its imminence.