US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan in an interview with the newspaper Kommersant assessed the possibility of a compromise between Washington and Moscow in the issue of US relationships with NATO allies.
According to Sullivan, in the negotiations with Moscow on US security guarantees will not be paid to such a compromise, since there are long-standing principles that the US president and government have adhered to success, supporting peace in Europe for decades. ” “These principles are the basis of US security. Our commitment to our transatlantic relations with our NATO allies is fundamental to our security, and we are not going to compromise on this issue,” said US Ambassador.
Sullivan added that the Russian authorities of their experience in their relations with the United States about these fundamental values in respect of which in Washington are not ready to look for compromises. He stressed that the United States is ready to enter into dialogue and discussion with Moscow and expressed the hope that it will be the dialogue, and not the situation in which “one side requires guarantees.”
At the same time, Sullivan stated that Washington could not immediately sign the projects of security guarantees transferred to the Russian side. “One of them is not addressed not to the United States, and NATO, it is assumed that this will be a contract between Russia and NATO, so it is simply impossible,” he.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published projects of Russia’s treaties with NATO and the United States on security guarantees. The document, in particular, states that the United States should not create military bases in the territories of the former countries of the USSR, not included in NATO. The United States also did not recommend using their infrastructure to keep any military activities and develop bilateral military cooperation with them.