American soldiers in Poland. The White House: America is ready to talk to Russia about missiles and military exercises, but not the military numbers in Europe

During a conference call about bilateral talks with Russia as part of the Strategic Stability Dialogue (SSD), the official indicated two areas in which progress could be made in the talks: restrictions on missile deployments – both on Ukraine, as well as under a framework similar to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which has been abandoned in recent years — and restrictions on the size, range and location of military exercises. However, he stressed that in both cases Russia would have to announce identical commitments.

We’ve seen reports of other things the United States will be open to discussing, such as the number of troops and elements of troop deployments in countries NATO. I want to make it clear that it’s not on the table, said the management representative.

In response to a question from Parliament whether he rules out talks on a treaty along the lines of the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE), which imposes bilateral restrictions on troop deployments in the region From the Atlantic Ocean to the UralsThe official responded that such a deal would need to be discussed in a wider forum.

– What I have described, such as conventional armed forces in Europe or other international multinational agreements, should be discussed in a different, broader context and not part of the set of topics that will be discussed during the dialogue on strategic stability – the official emphasized.

Washington focuses on realism, not optimism

According to his assessment, the United States approaches the talks “not with a sense of optimism, but realism,” adding that only after the start of the discussion will it become clear how serious Russia’s intentions are to conduct talks in good faith, and whether it does not treat them as an excuse to start hostilities.

Initial conversations in Geneva They will start on Sunday, although the main and formal part of the discussion is planned for Monday. The White House representative said the United States expected the Kremlin to provide misleading information about the talks.

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I can assure you that there will be no firm, serious or specific commitments, because the nature of these talks will be exploratory. Anything discussed should come back to Washington for consideration and discussion with partners and allies in the coming days, the government official said. Washington.

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