With tensions running high in Eastern Europe, Madrid’s El Pais newspaper has published leaked responses from the US and NATO to Russia’s proposals to de-escalate the situation on the continent.
Obviously, the document is unlikely to please Russia’s leadership. Moscow’s key demand was rejected – legally binding guarantees blocking the bloc’s potential further expansion, including into Ukraine. The remaining offers will do little to defuse the standoff or bring about compromises. Some are simply non-starters for Moscow. We are talking, for example, about the withdrawal of Russian troops or peacekeepers from Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Moldova, and Crimea.
Other proposals are unrealizable. Among them is the idea of returning to the implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Weapons in Europe. No NATO country has yet ratified its adapted version from 1999, so Russia has no reason to lift its moratorium on implementing it. Other proposals are possible in practice but unlikely to yield tangible results, such as resuming dialogue on security issues, including within the framework of the Russia-NATO Council. Dialogue is important in itself, but without the political will to achieve concrete results, it will be useless. There are also some proposals that can be considered groundwork for the future. Among them is the idea of inspecting missile defense facilities, or taking into account new weapons systems in negotiations on strategic stability. However, the critical mass of such proposals will not radically change the situation.