Moscow. January 21. INTERFAX-AVN - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has sent a letter to the head of the British military department, inviting him to hold talks in Moscow.
"Sergei Shoigu confirmed to his British counterpart his readiness to discuss all relevant security issues and, based on the principles of reciprocity, offered to hold talks in Moscow at any time convenient for the British Defense Minister," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
On January 17, Wallace announced the invitation of the head of the Russian Defense Ministry to London in the coming weeks to discuss common security interests.
"The resumption of contacts in the spirit of goodwill between Russia and the UK will help reduce tensions in Europe," Shoigu wrote in a reply letter to Wallace, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"In his address, Sergei Shoigu reminded Wallace that "the possibility of a constructive dialogue was demonstrated by the parties during the visit of the Russian delegation to London in 2013," where the defense and foreign ministers held talks in the 2+2 format," the message says.
Wallace said in the House of Commons of the British Parliament on January 17: "We are ready to discuss issues that relate to common security concerns and to engage constructively in good faith." He then said that Moscow's behavior was becoming increasingly threatening, and the UK would help Ukraine increase its defensive potential.
Recently, there has been a crisis in relations between Russia and NATO.
Moscow has proposed that the United States and NATO work out strong agreements that exclude the advance of the North Atlantic Alliance to the east and the deployment of new weapons in the immediate vicinity of the territory of the Russian Federation.
Last week, Russia held talks with the United States and NATO on security guarantees in Geneva and Brussels. There was no convergence of positions on the non-expansion of NATO to the east during the negotiations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow is waiting for written responses from the United States and NATO to its proposals.
On January 21, talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken took place in Geneva. The negotiations lasted 1.5 hours.
Russia will have to take serious political decisions if the response of the United States and NATO on security guarantees is disappointing, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on January 21. "So far, there is no formal written response from the United States and NATO to the proposals. If this answer is disappointing, then we will have to make very serious political decisions, about which our president has warned, including publicly, opponents from that side," Ryabkov said.
The United States, other NATO countries and Ukraine announced the concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and the threat of a Russian invasion. The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, stated that Russia has no aggressive plans.