NATO’s response to security guarantees handed to Russia

The North Atlantic Alliance’s response to security guarantees has been handed to Russia’s Ambassador to Brussels Alexander Tokovinin, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"NATO’s response has been handed to the Russian ambassador in Brussels," TASS cited the Foreign Ministry as saying.

Earlier in the day, US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan had handed Washington’s written response to the Russian draft agreement on security guarantees at a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the State Duma earlier in the day that Russia would not publish a US response on security guarantees, if asked, but would disclose the general gist of the answers.

On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements on security guarantees that Moscow expects from Washington and NATO. The two treaties - one with the US and the other with NATO — stipulate that NATO must halt its eastward expansion, deny membership to Ukraine, and introduce limits on the deployment of serious offensive weapons, including nuclear ones.