Tom Balmforth

MOSCOW, (Reuters) – Russia on Monday stated that the United States must respond to all of its security concerns and warned it again about a Russian military reaction unless Washington takes political steps to address its fears.

Moscow’s troop buildup close to Ukraine has alarmed the West. It last week revealed its wish list for security proposals, with NATO promising it will cease all military operations in Eastern Europe and Ukraine.

Washington said that while some Russia’s suggestions are clearly unacceptable, it is certain that the United States will reply this week with concrete proposals about the format for any negotiations.

Emily Horne spoke on behalf of the White House National Security Council. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national intelligence adviser, called Yuriy Ushakov by telephone to emphasize that the United States is ready to communicate via multiple channels, including bilateral engagement.

Sullivan “made clear that any dialogue must be based on reciprocity and address our concerns about Russia’s actions, and take place in full coordination with our European allies and partners. She also said that substance progress is only possible in an atmosphere of de-escalation, not escalation.

Konstantin Gavrilov was a Russian diplomat living in Vienna. He stated that there had been a moment when relations between Moscow and NATO were “momentous truth”.

He was quoted by RIA News Agency as saying, “The conversation must be serious”

Moscow will likely be influenced by the U.S. reaction to Ukraine’s crisis, now the most important in East-West relations.

According to the United States and Ukraine, Russia could be planning an invasion against its ex Soviet neighbour. Russia claims this is false and says that Ukraine’s expanding relationship with NATO caused the conflict to escalate. The Russian government has made a comparison to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, in which the world was on the verge of nuclear war.

Sergei Ryabkov (Deputy Foreign Minister) stated that Moscow had not yet received a response from the United States.

“I feel they’ll try and turn it into a slow-moving proces, but we need to act urgently, because it is very complicated, it is acute. It tends to become more complex,” he was quoted as saying by RIA.

While the Kremlin claimed it wasn’t yet too early to judge the West’s response to the crisis, information “various source” indicated that the West was open to discussing the idea.

When asked separately about the Belarusian proposal of hosting Russian nuclear weapons in case there were similar West-West deployments, Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson said that Moscow has many options.

It’s not secret that different types of arms are being deployed near the borders of the United States. To counter this danger, it is necessary to take appropriate steps. “There are many choices here,” he stated.