WASHINGTON (Transatlantic Today) – As long as Russia reciprocates, the U.S. officials are entertaining the possibility of pulling back eastern European missile deployments, as well as other military efforts in the region. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State met with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister in the first of three scheduled meetings between the two. Then, NATO and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will both meet with Russia to discuss the possibility of reining in missile deployment and some other military practices.
Sherman made it clear that these talks are still in their early stages, and nothing is settled yet – emphasizing the Biden administration’s promise to speak with both NATO and Ukraine before any final decisions are made. On a State Department-hosted conference call, Sherman said that “We put some ideas on the table” regarding “missile deployments and exercises.”
Further, an anonymous official said that “There are some areas…where we think it might be possible to make progress.” This same official said that Russia feels “threatened” by the possibility of U.S. missiles being deployed in Ukraine; however, the official said that the U.S. has no intention of doing that.
Clearly, with diplomatic talks this massive, both sides will be forced to make concessions. The U.S. has already agreed to tamp down its missile deployment as long as Russia “reciprocates,” and Russia wants a guarantee that the U.S. will not deploy missiles with a large enough range to strike Russia. Again, if the U.S. does this, Russia is willing to reciprocate.
However, as is to be expected, the U.S. is not willing to meet all of Russia’s demands. Some officials believe that Russia is asking too much of the U.S. Despite Russia’s persistence, American officials have stated that the government has no intention of lessening its military presence or weapon arsenal in eastern Europe.
Sherman recently confirmed that U.S. government officials are united in their refusal of Russia’s insistence to stop NATO’s eastern expansion, explaining also that the Biden administration will not remove U.S. troops or weapons from eastern Europe. She said “We did not have discussions about American troop levels…That’s not a topic of conversation.”
So, while it may be possible for Russia and the U.S. to come to some sort of agreement about missile deployment, it doesn’t look like progress in other areas – such as troop organization or military maneuvers – will be made anytime soon.