US And NATO Called To Hold Deployment Of Nuclear Weapons In Eastern Europe, Kremlin Refuses To Comment

JAKARTA - The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have told Russia they are refraining from deploying nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported.

"We continue to refrain from deploying additional permanent attack weapons, as well as from deploying nuclear weapons in Eastern European countries", the newspaper reported, citing the response of the United States and NATO to Russia's proposal for security guarantees that belonged to it, as reported by Sputnik News on February 2.

The United States is ready to consider the possibility of signing a document with Russia, on security issues of mutual interest, the newspaper reported.

"We are ready to consider arrangements or agreements with Russia on bilateral issues, including written and signed instruments, to address our security concerns", the document reads.

Spanish newspapers claim the United States and NATO, in their response to Russia, said Moscow's proposal could be the subject of constructive dialogue.

NATO is trying to get Russia to refrain from testing anti-satellite weapons, as it creates a large number of weapons, according to the alliance's response to Russia's security proposals.

"(NATO advises) Russia refrain from carrying out anti-satellite tests, which generate large amounts of debris", the document reads.

A diplomatic source confirmed to Sputnik the authenticity of the US and NATO responses to the Russian security proposals that have been published by El Pais.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday declined to comment on the US and NATO response to a Russian security guarantee proposal published earlier in the day by Spain's El Pais newspaper.

"We don't publish anything and I don't want to comment on it. You need to talk to the newspapers or the Spanish government, at least not to us", Peskov told reporters.

"We, of course, have seen the publication. Yesterday, the President (Vladimir Putin) gave a general conceptual assessment of the accepted answers in the section concerning the fundamental issues of importance to Russia", Peskov continued.

When asked who could relay the US and NATO responses to media outlets, the official advised against guessing.

Moscow published its security proposal documents for NATO and the United States in late 2021, as tensions flared around Ukraine. Moscow specifically asked for assurances that NATO would not expand eastward to include Ukraine and Georgia.

To note, in recent months, Western countries have accused Russia of building troops near the border with Ukraine and planning to attack neighboring countries.

Meanwhile, Moscow has rejected the claim, which it sees as a pretext for a NATO military deployment near Russia's borders and plans to expand further east.