Russia keeps door open after U.S. rejects key security demands
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[January 27, 2022]
By Dmitry Antonov and Tom Balmforth
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday
it was clear the United States was not willing to address its main
security concerns but kept the door open for further dialogue in their
standoff over Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow, which has massed tens of
thousands of troops near Ukraine, would not rush to draw conclusions
after Washington formally responded to Russian proposals for a redrawing
of post-Cold War security arrangements in Europe.
Describing tensions on the continent as reminiscent of the Cold War,
Peskov said it would take time for Moscow to review Wednesday's response
from Washington. But he said U.S. and NATO statements that Russia's main
demands were unacceptable did not leave much room for optimism.
"Based on what our colleagues said yesterday, it's absolutely clear that
on the main categories outlined in those draft documents... we cannot
say that our thoughts have been taken into account or that a willingness
has been shown to take our concerns into account," Peskov said.
"But we won't rush with our assessments," he said.
The nuanced Kremlin reaction made clear that Russia was not rejecting
the U.S. and NATO responses out of hand or closing the door to
diplomacy.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/graue_sda_042021.png)
Russian and Ukrainian dollar bonds, which have been hammered in recent
weeks by the crisis, both rose in response to Peskov's comments.
Russia's dollar-denominated RTS share index climbed 4%.
Russia denies planning to invade Ukraine but says it wants to enforce
"red lines" to protect its own security.
It presented demands in December that NATO halt any further enlargement,
bar Ukraine from ever joining and pull back forces and weaponry from
eastern European countries that joined the alliance after the Cold War
ended.
DIPLOMATIC WINDOW
The formal U.S. and NATO responses, delivered on Wednesday, were not
made public, but both had already rejected Russia's demands while
expressing willingness to engage on other issues such as arms control,
confidence-building measures and limits on the size and scope of
military exercises.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington remained
committed to upholding NATO's "open-door" policy and NATO said it would
not compromise its core principles.
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![](../images/012722pics/news_r35.jpg)
A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the
Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26,
2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/farmersbank_lda_LUAL_2021.png) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro
Kuleba, speaking before the Kremlin comments, said Russia was likely
to remain on a diplomatic track with Kyiv and the West for at least
two weeks.
Kuleba said Kyiv was preparing for all scenarios, but added that
Russia's main strategy now was to destabilise Ukraine, including by
using hybrid warfare tactics such as cyber attacks and
disinformation campaigns.
"We understand that a military operation is something they keep in
the pocket, it's not something they put ahead of other options," he
said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was hope of
starting serious dialogue with the United States, but only on
secondary questions and not on fundamental ones.
"The most important question is our clear position on the
unacceptability of NATO's further eastward expansion and the
deployment of strike weapons that could threaten Russian territory,"
Lavrov said in comments published on his ministry's website. He said
Putin would decide Russia's next move.
Putin, who has not spoken publicly on the crisis for weeks, is due
to travel to China next week for the opening of the Beijing Winter
Olympics.
He has warned of an unspecified "military-technical response" -
something defence analysts say could relate to missile deployments -
if Russia's demands are ignored.
TASS news agency quoted a senior Russian foreign ministry official,
Vladimir Ermakov, as saying a nuclear missile crisis between Moscow
and Washington was unavoidable without measures to ensure restraint
and predictability.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
Ermakov said Moscow believed Washington was preparing to deploy
short and intermediate range missiles to Europe and the Asia-Pacific
region.
(Additional reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard in Copenhagen, Writing
by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Gareth Jones)
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