The United States is prepared to hold talks with Russia on a reciprocal agreement over the deployment of ground-launched missiles or combat forces in Ukraine, according to documents published by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
The documents, which the newspaper says are the responses from Washington and NATO to security demands recently made by Russia, also set out the possibility of measures to limit military incidents and prove to Moscow that Tomahawk missiles are not installed in Romania and Poland, members of the alliance.
“NATO is a defensive Alliance and poses no threat to Russia,” the document from Washington begins.
“We have always striven for peace, stability, and security in the Euro-Atlantic area, and a Europe whole, free, and at peace. These remain our goals and our abiding vision.”
El Pais did not say how it obtained the documents, while Reuters quoted NATO and the Kremlin as saying they could not comment on the information published by the Spanish newspaper.
The documents were handed to the Kremlin last month amid a diplomatic push to ease tensions between Moscow and the West over Russia’s buildup of more than 100,000 troops in areas around the border with Ukraine.
Russia has denied the troop buildup is a prelude to any invasion.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded a guarantee that NATO won’t allow Ukraine to become a member in the future and Moscow has subsequently suggested it won’t tolerate NATO troops and infrastructure in places like Romania, Bulgaria, and Georgia.
Both Washington and NATO have rejected the notion of any country dictating who may join the alliance.
“We firmly believe that tensions and disagreements must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, and not through the threat or use of force,” the documents published by El Pais said.
