(Bloomberg) — Russia won’t wait “endlessly” for a security deal with NATO and progress depends on the U.S., Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday, keeping up pressure after a week of high-level talks with the West failed to yield noticeable progress.
“We’re waiting for written responses from our colleagues” in the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Lavrov told reporters at a Moscow news conference. “I would like to stress above all that we need legally-binding guarantees because political commitments made in the 1990s were never respected by our Western partners.”
The Kremlin remains on a collision course with the U.S. and its European allies over a buildup of tens of thousands of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine. The U.S. is putting pressure on Europe to agree on potential sanctions amid concerns President Vladimir Putin could soon invade Ukraine, according to people familiar with the discussions. Russia denies it plans any invasion of its neighbor.
The ruble rebounded after it declined by 2.3% on Thursday amid fears the talks had failed. It traded up 0.6% at 75.9132 per dollar as of 12:22 p.m. in Moscow, the best performance on the day in emerging markets.
Meetings this week between Russia and the U.S. and NATO failed to shed light on Moscow’s intentions. Russia hasn’t committed to continue talks so far. NATO has rejected Russia’s demands that the military alliance rule out future membership for Ukraine and other ex-Soviet states, and that it withdraw forces to positions they held in 1997.
“We’re certain that with good will, a willingness for compromise, that it’s always possible to find a mutually-acceptable solution,” Lavrov said. “At the same time we’re continuing to prepare for any potential course of events.”
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