Russia will negotiate binding security guarantees in Geneva with the USA, said the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Sakharova. The allegations that Moscow is setting an ultimatum are unfounded.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Sakharova told journalists on Thursday that Russia would seek solid mutual security guarantees in negotiations with the US on January 10th:

“In the course of these deliberations we will try to fight for solid guarantees for the security of Russia, namely no expansion of NATO to the east and no stationing of threatening weapon systems on Russian borders.”

Regarding the allegations made by some Western politicians, including the President of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, that Moscow was supposedly giving Europe an ultimatum by demanding mutual security guarantees, the diplomat replied that these allegations were baseless. The West had given Sakharova ultimatums for years:

“For years the tone of Brussels has been very strange and in some cases even unacceptable.”

It makes no sense and no one has the right to reproach Russia, the spokeswoman underlined.

In view of the worsening crisis in Ukraine, Russia had presented a draft document on the provision of mutually binding security guarantees. US President Joe Biden immediately expects Washington not to accept Moscow’s red lines. In this regard, Josep Borrell demands that only winners are able to put their conditions in writing. Russia wants to bring the issue of guarantees to the negotiating table at the diplomatic level between Moscow and Washington on January 10th.

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