U.S. delivers written response to Russian demands amid Ukraine crisis

The United States has delivered a written response to Russia addressing Moscow’s security demands, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Wednesday, as Washington continues to pursue diplomacy aimed at diverting a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But it remains unclear whether the document will deescalate the tense security situation along the Russia-Ukraine border, as Washington has already ruled out Moscow’s major requests: that NATO pull back its presence in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, and that Ukraine and Georgia be permanently barred from joining the military alliance.

“Without going into the specifics of the document, I can tell you that it reiterates what we’ve said publicly for many weeks and, in a sense, for many years,” Blinkensaid at a news conference. “That we will uphold the principle of NATO’s ‘open door,’ and that’s … a commitment that we’re bound to.”

The written response, which U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan delivered to Moscow, was “fully coordinated” with Ukraine and European allies, Blinken said, and it “sets out a serious diplomatic path forward, should Russia choose it.”

The written response also has been shared with Congress, and Blinken is scheduled to brief congressional leaders on the document later Wednesday. It will not be released publicly, however, “because we think diplomacy has the best chance to succeed if we provide space for confidential talks,” Blinken said.

Blinken described President Joe Biden as “deeply involved” in producing the written response “from the get-go — reviewing various drafts of the proposal, making his own edits and, of course, blessing the final document that was delivered to Russia today.”

In addition, NATO plans to deliver its own document to Russia that “fully reinforces” the U.S. written response and outlines “ideas and concerns about collective security in Europe,” Blinken said.

Sullivan, the U.S. envoy, transferred the U.S. written response to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko in a roughly half-hour meeting,according to the Russian government-owned news agency TASS.

Earlier Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovthreatened further aggression if the document did not satisfy Russia. “We won’t allow our proposals to be drowned in endless discussions,” he said, adding that if “the West continues its aggressive course, Moscow will take the necessary retaliatory measures.”

The production of the written response represents the latest show of diplomacy after a month of intense talks meant to resolve the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Two weeks ago, U.S. and Russian officialsmet in Geneva, Russia and NATO member statesmet in Brussels, and OSCE-participating countriesmet in Vienna. And last week, Blinken traveledto the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, thento Berlin and finallyto Geneva to meet with Lavrov.

Blinken left that final sessionpledging to present Russia with a written record of Washington’s concerns about Moscow’s behavior and proposals to end the security crisis sometime this week. On Wednesday, Blinken said he expected to speak with Lavrov again “in the coming days, after Moscow has had a chance to read” the U.S. document “and is ready to discuss next steps.”

Top U.S. officialshave recently escalated their warnings about further Russian aggression toward Ukraine, and the United States has ordered the relatives of U.S. embassy staffers in Ukraineto leave the nation. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said later Wednesday that if Russia were to invade Ukraine, the not-as-yet-operational Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be halted.

"If Russia invades Ukraine one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward," he said. "We want to be very clear about that."

White House press secretary Jen Psakisaid last week that the security situation was “now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack in Ukraine,” and shereiterated on Tuesday that the invasion threat “remains imminent.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday placed roughly 8,500 troops on heightened alert to potentially deploy to Eastern Europe, with most of those troops intended to bolster theNATO Response Force in allied nations around Ukraine.

Blinken acknowledged the United States’ dual-track approach in his remarks on Wednesday, mentioning the three deliveries of U.S. defensive military assistance that arrived in Kyiv this week “carrying additional Javelin missiles and other anti-armor systems.”

“Even as we’ve been engaging in diplomacy, which is my job and responsibility, we have been very resolutely preparing for Russia to take the other path — the path of aggression,” he said.

In an exchange with a reporter about the usefulness of the U.S. written response, Blinken also conceded that Russia might not be “serious about this at all.” Still, he added, “we have an obligation to test that proposition and to pursue the diplomatic path and to leave no diplomatic stone unturned.”

Nahal Toosi contributed to this article.