Russia to hold security talks with US, NATO officials in January 2022

The much-awaited security talks between Moscow military officials, United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) are expected to take place in January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. Speaking at an interview live-streamed on Russia's military website, the FM said that the discussions on the list of "security guarantees" that Moscow wishes from Washington will be held immediately after the following the Russian New Year holidays, which tentatively shall end on January 10. He also added that Moscow on Sunday recieved a separate proposal from NATO to initiate talks on January 12, which the former is considering too, CTGN reported.

The news came after a US National Security Council spokesperson told a London-based news agency of the much mulled-over talks that were announced by US President Joe Biden in early November. Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko informed Sputnik that the Russian end of the proposal is focused on the "security guarantees", including non-expansion of the NATO alliance into the ex-Soviet region. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also confirmed that he intends to convene the NATO-Russia Council on January 12.

The discussions come after US President Joe Biden on December 8 told reporters outside White House that he looked forward to a joint meeting between four NATO allies and Russia. During the meeting, the participants will be expected to "discuss the future of Russia's concerns relative to NATO writ and bring down the temperature at Ukraine's Donbas conflict zone," the President had said, as quoted by Sputnik. According to reports, the list of demands proposed by Russia includes promised of NATO-backed military activity in Eastern Europe and Ukraine.

It is pertinent to mention that Biden was referring to the simmering tensions that have emerged after Russia deployed over 90,000 troops along the eastern borders of Ukraine, sparking speculations of invasion of Kyiv in the coming weeks.

The US plans to provide Ukraine with Intel on Russian action along Donbas

The announcement of tentative dates come after the Pentagon on December 26 announced that it will lay out a plan to provide Ukraine access to Intel on Russian activities in the Donbas region. Although it could irk Russian President Vladimir Putin, an official close to the matter said that the Department of Defence would share information, including images, videos, and related content to help Kyiv stall possible invasion by Russia. This came after about 1,000 Russian troops participated in exercises replicating enemy air attacks, Interfax had reported, citing Russia's Western Military District.

(Image: AP)