Moscow-NATO relations are approaching the “moment of truth”: Russian official | Conflict News

Tensions over Ukraine show no signs of easing as diplomatic talks begin.

Moscow has said that ties between Russia and NATO are approaching the “truth for a moment” ahead of high-stakes talks on Ukraine.

This was followed by statements made by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grush on Tuesday negotiations a week earlier in Geneva between Russian and U.S. officials, a week of diplomacy was launched to ease tensions.

A NATO-Russia Council meeting will be held in Brussels on Wednesday.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that the truth of our relationship with the alliance comes at some point,” the Russian news agency Grush said.

“Our expectations are very realistic and we hope that this will be a serious and in-depth dialogue on key European security issues,” he added, referring to the Brussels talks.

Washington and Kiev say Moscow has deployed about 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border in recent months, eight years after taking the Crimean peninsula from its neighbor.

Military action has sparked fears of another Russian incursion into Ukraine and US President Joe Biden’s White House, and has led to threats to impose Western sanctions on Moscow in the event of an attack.

For its part, Moscow refuses to plan an invasion, demanding broad concessions from Washington and NATO allies, most of whom have already been launched by Western powers.

Grushko said Russia would demand a comprehensive response to the alliance’s proposals.

“We will encourage a concrete article-by-article reaction to the draft Russian agreement on guarantees,” he said.

Russia’s demands, announced in December, are aimed at maintaining the US and NATO in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, not to accept US-led alliances as new members of Ukraine or Georgia, nor to establish bases in former Soviet countries.

After more than seven hours of talks in Geneva on Monday, Russian and US officials offered to continue talking, although no immediate progress was made.

Moscow remained skeptical about the progress on Tuesday and stressed that it would stick to its position, not accepting its demands to plunge into naughty negotiations.

“We will not be satisfied with the endless dragging of this process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov’s statement after US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda-Thomas Greenfield told Al Jazeera on Monday that he “wanted” Russia to believe that it had no intention of invading Ukraine.

“But everything we’ve seen so far indicates that motions are being made in that direction,” he said at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York.

“If they have decided not to go ahead with their commitment to them in recent weeks … that is good, but we will continue to do so. preparation and planning If they had to take any action against Ukraine, they would have to take action. “

Following Wednesday’s talks, the European Security and Cooperation Organization (OSCE) will hold a meeting in Vienna on Thursday.