It is Urgent That Russia is Provided With Legal Security Guarantees, Top Diplomat Says

"The issue of providing our country with legal security guarantees, due to a 'critical number' of problems accumulated in Russian-Western relations, has become so urgent that it has now somewhat pushed a number of other important aspects of the strategic agenda into the background", Yermakov said.

One of the main messages of Russia's security guarantees proposals is that it is high time for the West to change its mind, stop the groundless "anti-Russian hysteria", as well as not bring the situation to an extremely painful escalation for itself, the diplomat added.

An armoured personnel carrier is seen during tactical exercises, which are conducted by the Ukrainian National Guard, Armed Forces, special operations units and simulate a crisis situation in an urban settlement, in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine February 4, 2022.

He stressed that Moscow is ready to consider the possibility of extending control mechanisms to strategic systems, but strictly on the basis of reciprocity with the US, as unilateral concessions within the framework of the dialogue are impossible.

"In the future, Russian experts are ready to consider the possibility of extending the principles and mechanisms of control to systems of interest to both parties, capable of solving strategic tasks, but strictly and exclusively on the basis of reciprocity. Unilateral steps towards US wishes and demands are impossible," Yermakov said.

Moscow published draft agreements in December 2021, amid an escalation of tensions over Ukraine. The proposals include limits on troop, warship, aircraft, and missile deployments for both sides. In addition, Russia specifically requested guarantees that NATO would not expand to the East, to include Ukraine and Georgia, and won't create new bases near the Russian border.

Negotiations Over Iran

At the same time, Yermakov noticed there is progress in the Vienna-hosted negotiations to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the parties are not preparing backup scenarios in the event of their failure.

"It is fundamentally important that the participants in the Vienna process are united by a common goal and are focused on working towards a positive result. There is progress, despite the information attacks of various opponents of the nuclear deal and the unrest in the media," Yermakov said.

The goal of the Vienna negotiations is the full restoration of the JCPOA on the terms and within the parameters that were agreed upon in 2015, the diplomat said, adding "we are not talking about backup scenarios in the event that multilateral efforts to revive the action plan do not yield results".

A picture taken on November 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility

"We hope that the previous mistakes will not be repeated in the future, and the 'package' of decisions on the restoration of the JCPOA will become a reliable guarantee in this regard," the official added.

He noted that attempts to artificially rush the course of the talks and set up deadlines is counterproductive.

"It seems to us that those in the US and Europe who thoughtfully monitor the situation in the negotiations on the JCPOA and know the history of the issue still have an inner conviction that the final collapse of the nuclear deal is dangerous. It would inevitably lead to an aggravation of tension in the Middle East and in the Persian Gulf with unpredictable and, most likely, irreversible consequences that will be felt on a global scale," the diplomat added.

Since April 2021, Vienna has been hosting talks to restore the 2015 accord. The eighth round of talks on the nuclear deal has been underway in Vienna since late December. The participants previously agreed on two drafts of the deal, which included provisions covering Iranian interests.