With Moscow looking to reach an agreement with NATO on security guarantees
in Europe, the bloc's member Poland has gone a step further. Poland has
expressed its willingness to allow Russian inspectors into its country to
inspect US air defense facilities.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) citing an unnamed Polish
official, Warsawa would be willing to reach a reciprocal agreement with
Moscow.
In return, Poland wants its inspectors to be allowed to inspect the missile
site in Kaliningrad.
The idea of letting Russia into US facilities in Poland was originally
proposed by Moscow, according to US officials.
The Kremlin has repeatedly opposed the deployment of foreign missiles on
European soil and has stated air defense facilities could be used to fire
ballistic missiles at Russian territory.
"Polish officials say the government is open to missile defense inspections
on condition that Russia allows inspections of Russian missile activity in
Kaliningrad, a highly militarized Russian exclave in the Baltic Sea that
borders Poland and Lithuania," the Wall Street Journal reported.
At the end of last year, Russia published a draft of a proposed agreement
that it had sent to NATO and the US. The document includes a long list of
security guarantees the Kremlin is seeking, including a request that the
United States remove its missiles and troops from Russia's borders.
On Wednesday, US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan submitted a
counter-proposal to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“We didn't release the document publicly because we thought diplomacy had
the best chance of succeeding if we made room for secret talks.
We hope and hope that Russia will share this view and will take our proposal
seriously," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"There is no doubt in my mind that if Russia is to approach this seriously
and in a spirit of reciprocity, with a determination to improve collective
security for all of us, there are very positive things in this document that
must be pursued," he said.
