Moscow has presented Washington with a list of demands to ensure its security

 

 Russia has unveiled a "highly controversial" list of security guarantees it says are needed to ease tensions in Europe and defuse the crisis around Ukraine, according to The Guardian. As the newspaper notes, the document includes many points that have already been rejected by the West.

Moscow's demands include Ukraine's refusal to join NATO and restrictions on the deployment of troops and weapons on NATO's eastern flank, implying a real return of NATO forces to their positions where they were stationed in 1997 - before eastward enlargement, the newspaper notes.

 As the publication recalls, the draft eight-point agreement was published by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a time when Russian troops were concentrated near the borders of Ukraine. Earlier, Moscow promised that neglecting its interests would lead to a "military response" similar to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the author said.

Vladimir Putin has asked the West to provide Russia with "legal guarantees" for its security, but the Kremlin's "aggressive proposals" are likely to be rejected in the West and seen as an attempt to formalize Russia's sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, according to The Guardian.

 These demands, first set out in full by Moscow, were handed over to the United States this week. Among them is a request to NATO not to deploy new troops or weapons in countries that joined the Alliance after 1997, that is, in most of Eastern Europe, including Poland, the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and the Balkans. . Russia has also called on NATO to rule out further enlargement, including Ukraine's accession to the Alliance, and not to conduct exercises without Russia's prior consent in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Caucasus countries such as Georgia or Central Asia.

 The Russian document also calls on Russia and the United States to refrain from deploying medium- and short-range missiles with ground-based missiles in areas capable of hitting targets in Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Moscow's proposals are likely to be received very negatively by NATO countries - in particular Poland and the Baltic states, the newspaper said. They have already warned that Russia is trying to regain its sphere of influence in the region and see the document as proof that Moscow is seeking to limit their sovereignty, the newspaper said.

 NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has previously rejected any agreements that would deprive Ukraine of the right to join a military alliance, saying it depends on Ukraine and 30 NATO countries. However, there are serious obstacles to Ukraine's entry into the Alliance, including its territorial dispute with Russia over Crimea, according to The Guardian.

 Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday that there was no deadline for concluding talks, but Russia wanted them to begin without delay or procrastination. "We can go anywhere at any time, literally from tomorrow," he said. Asked if he considered Russia's demands unfounded, Ryabkov said no. According to him, the proposals made are not an ultimatum, but their seriousness should not be underestimated.