Russia waits response to proposal on security guarantees

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia has not received "any substantive" response to its suggestion on security guarantees, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"We have heard the words with reference to different sources, about the willingness to discuss (the issue), and this is likely a positive factor. But there is no substantive answer yet, so it is premature to give estimates," Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

Peskov admitted that the talks on security guarantees can fail, adding that Russia considers a wide range of options in case of the deployment of NATO's military infrastructure near its borders.

"It's no secret that the deployment of various types of (NATO) weapons near our borders, which may pose a danger to us, will require taking appropriate steps in order to balance the situation. A variety of options are possible here," he stressed.

In a separate statement, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov echoed the Kremlin spokesman, saying Moscow is still waiting for a reaction from Washington.

Ryabkov added that Russia took into account the EU position regarding providing Russia with the security guarantees, however, it insists on a bilateral talks process with the US.

"We offer, exactly, to the United States, and exactly, bilateral negotiations to conduct on this topic. As for other formats, the wishes of certain figures, representatives of certain structures, of course, we take into account, but this does not mean that we are changing our position," he said.

The US is most likely will try to delay the talks, to turn them into a sluggish process, to make additional conditions and requirements, Ryabkov added.

"But we need it urgently because the situation is very difficult, acute, tends to further complicate, so we cannot delay, we are ready to start these negotiations right away," he said.

But if the talks on the security guarantees succeed, relations between Russia and the US may improve, he said.

As of now, there is no progress in bilateral disputes, including the visa issues and work of diplomatic missions, he noted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had called on NATO to start talks aiming to provide Russia with reliable, legally bounding, and long-term security guarantees.