17 December 2021, Friday, 19:17 464

Russia’s Draft Agreements With U.S. And NATO Demand Commitment Not To Admit Ukraine Into NATO

Даша Зубкова

The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry has released Russian-prepared draft agreements with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on provision of legal guarantees of Russia's security, which require NATO to rule out further eastward expansion, particularly admission of Ukraine into the organization.

The draft documents have been posted on the website of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"All member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization commit themselves to refrain from any further enlargement of NATO, including the accession of Ukraine as well as other States," the draft “Agreement on Measures to Ensure the Security of the Russian Federation and the Member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization” states.

The draft agreement also stipulates that the Russian Federation and all the Parties that were member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as of May 27, 1997, respectively, shall not deploy military forces and weaponry on the territory of any of the other States in Europe in addition to the forces stationed on that territory as of May 27, 1997.

Besides, the draft agreement stipulates that member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization shall not conduct any military activity on the territory of Ukraine, as well as other states in Eastern Europe, in the South Caucasus, and in Central Asia.

The draft “Treaty Between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Security Guarantees” stipulates that the United States “shall undertake to prevent further eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and deny accession to the alliance to the states of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics” and that the United States “shall not establish military bases in the territory of the states of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, use their infrastructure for any military activities or develop bilateral military cooperation with them.”

According to the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, the ministry delivered the draft agreements to the United States on December 15 and expects the United States to enter into negotiations with Russia on the draft agreements in the near future.

As Ukrainian News Agency reported earlier, United States President Joe Biden reportedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin during their December 7 video call that economic measures would be imposed if the conflict with Ukraine escalated.

Putin reportedly told Biden that Russia wanted legal guarantees of non-expansion of NATO eastward.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Russia's demand for legal guarantees of non-expansion of NATO eastward as strange after Russia itself violated its earlier promises, particularly the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances relating to Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia signed in Budapest in 1994.

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