US, NATO send written response on Russia’s security demands

US rules out Russian demand to halt NATO’s eastward expansion, but says it is open to talks on arms control.

NATO’s doors ‘remain open’ despite Moscow’s pressure: Blinken
Blinken says U.S. is ready regardless of Russia’s responseThe U.S. has handed over its written response to Russia’s security demands, the latest step in the high-stakes diplomacy over Moscow’s buildup of more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border.

Now it’s up to President Vladimir Putin’s government, which didn’t see its key demands met, to reply.

The document delivered in Moscow on Wednesday by U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan sets out “a serious diplomatic path forward,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Washington. “We are open to dialogue, we prefer diplomacy. It remains up to Russia to decide how to respond. We are ready either way.”