NATO and the US offered Russia confidence-building measures (press)

The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) offered Russia confidence-building measures to defuse the crisis over Ukraine, according to documents published by the Spanish newspaper El País.

The newspaper reproduced images of the letters sent by the United States and the Atlantic alliance in response to the security demands that Russia had presented in December.

NATO and Russian sources have so far avoided commenting or confirming the authenticity of the documents.

According to the newspaper, in its letter, the United States proposes to Russia the adoption of “reciprocal commitments to refrain from deploying offensive ground-launched missile systems and permanent forces with a combat mission on the territory of Ukraine.”

Both the US and NATO documents call on Russia to restore diplomatic ties with the military alliance and to renew and renegotiate nuclear missile control treaties with the United States.

They also urged Moscow to re-engage with the NATO-Russia council, a forum for contacts that “it offers dialogue and partnership instead of conflict and mistrust.”

Russia had also demanded guarantees from the Western alliance that it would never accept Ukraine’s membership, and that it would withdraw its forces from countries that were once allies of the Soviet Union (such as Poland or Hungary).

However, the NATO countries have rejected this call to close the doors of the military alliance, although the letters to Moscow mention “meaningful arms control discussions and dialogue with Russia on mutual transparency and confidence-building measures”.

“No other partner has been offered a comparable relationship or similar institutional framework”, mentions the NATO letter that El País released.

However, the document states thatRussia has broken trust at the core of our cooperation and has defied the fundamental principles of the global and Euro-Atlantic security architecture.”

On its side, the response letter from the United States highlights the availability to “consider arrangements or agreements with Russia on issues of bilateral interest, to include written and signed instruments that address our respective security concerns.”

The Washington administration also proposed renewing the US-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue on arms control agreements to “limit short- and intermediate-range land-based missiles and their launchers.”

The letter also warns that “a Russian escalation to force the position or further aggression against Ukraine will force the United States and our allies to strengthen our defensive posture.”.