MOSCOW, Dec 17 - RIA Novosti. Russia and the United States undertake not to deploy nuclear weapons outside their territory and return those already located outside its borders, according to the draft treaty on security guarantees published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"The Parties exclude the deployment of nuclear weapons outside the national territory and return such weapons already deployed outside the national territory at the time of entry into force of this Treaty to the national territory. The parties will eliminate all available infrastructure for the deployment of nuclear weapons outside the national territory," the text of the document says.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier stated the need to immediately begin negotiations in order to develop clear international legal agreements that exclude any further advance of NATO to the east and the deployment of weapons threatening Russia in neighboring states, primarily in Ukraine. Moscow believes that it is necessary to officially disavow the decision of the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit that Ukraine and Georgia will become NATO members, as contrary to the commitment of the leaders of all OSCE participating states not to strengthen their security at the expense of the security of others.
On Wednesday, at a meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and US Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried, Russia officially handed over two documents to the US - a treaty and an agreement including Russian ideas on security guarantees. The Kremlin said that the Russian Federation is ready to immediately begin negotiations on the drafts of these documents.
Earlier, Ryabkov told RIA Novosti that if NATO and the United States do not respond to Russia's demand for security guarantees, this could lead to a new round of confrontation.
