Russia: U.S. response doesn't address key demands

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Top diplomat Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that the U.S. responses to Moscow's security demands gave hope of starting a serious dialogue, but only on secondary questions and not the fundamental issues.

President Vladimir Putin will decide on Russia's next steps regarding the U.S. and NATO written responses that were handed over on Wednesday, Lavrov said.

The United States and NATO said on Wednesday they had delivered the written responses requested by Moscow to proposals it submitted in December.

Among other things, it demanded that NATO halt any further enlargement, bar Ukraine from ever joining and pull back forces and weaponry from eastern European countries that joined it after the Cold War ended.