On Wednesday, January 26, the United States’ ambassador in Moscow, John Sullivan, personally delivered a memorandum to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs containing the official US reply to earlier Russian demands on security guarantees. Simultaneously, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) handed over to Moscow its separate written response. Both Washington and Brussels refused to deny countries like Ukraine or Georgia the right to seek NATO membership, though it is clear such memb

Tensions have been flying high between Moscow and the West for months, with little prospect currently of imminent de-escalation. Stress is also mounting between Russia and Ukraine, as Russian military activities in the surrounding region increase. In Washington, the White House and President Joseph Biden argue that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be pending. The Kremlin has, in turn, repeatedly claimed it has no intentions of deploying troops into Ukraine. Read more here.