Russia sent follow-up questions rather than a response to the United States in their exchange on Moscow’s demands for security guarantees, a senior Russian diplomat said on Tuesday.
A State Department spokesperson on Monday said the U.S. has received a written follow-up from Russia on the matter.
However, a senior diplomatic source told Russia’s state news agency RIA that the letter contained questions from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, also sent to other NATO members, on how Moscow’s counterparts understood the “indivisibility of security” principle.
Moscow was still working on an actual response to Washington’s counter-proposals, the source said.
Washington and Brussels replied Moscow’s demands for legally binding security guarantees amid a standoff over Ukraine’s plans to join NATO.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said they had not addressed Moscow’s main security demands but Russia was ready to keep talking. (Reuters/NAN)
