Russia asks NATO to scuttle itself. To renounce its principles, to forget its commitments, to withdraw its forces. This can be summed up in the proposals published by Moscow on Friday, December 17. An atypical approach, which coincides with the maintenance of an exceptional military presence near Ukraine, ready for a large-scale operation. Visiting the Russian capital this week, Deputy US Secretary of State Karen Donfried got the scoop on this offer, also passed on to the allies. It presupposes a double variation: a bilateral treaty with Washington and a security agreement with NATO.
The text claims to go back in time, as if, thirty years after the fall of the USSR, the independence of the former republics was only an artifice. It does not provide for any concession on the Russian side and makes no mention of the annexation of Crimea in 2014, nor of the troops present in the Ukrainian Donbass. According to the project, Russia and the members of NATO in 1997 – that is to say before the enlargement towards Eastern Europe – would undertake not to have forces on other European territories. No short and medium range missiles deployed within firing range of the other party. No military exercises or activities, such as reconnaissance flights, near the Russian border. No further NATO enlargement to include Ukraine, Georgia or any other candidate country. Finally, the Atlantic Alliance should not conduct any military activity on Ukrainian territory, but also more generally in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
“There are things in these documents that the Russians know to be unacceptable, reacted Friday a senior American official, during a press point. But there are other things that we are ready to work on that deserve some discussion. “ To which the Russian side immediately responded that “The two documents are not formulated as a menu, where we can choose what interests us”.
Bluff game
Biden administration intends to send formal response to Moscow ” next week “. This approach is tactical. It is a question of not immediately offering Russia the satisfaction of a refusal, which would serve as a pretext for a military operation in Ukraine. Both parties are therefore engaged in a form of bluffing, each claiming to be constructive. And contacts continue between Washington and Moscow. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met Thursday with Yuri Ushakov, diplomatic adviser to Vladimir Putin.
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