The United States is willing to reassure Russia that offensive Tomahawk cruise missiles are not being based in Romania and Poland if Moscow would make similar assurances at two of its own missile sites inside Russia, according to leaked documents published Wednesday in a Spanish newspaper.
The daily El Pais published what it said were the separate written replies to the Kremlin from the Biden administration and from NATO, in the midst of tense negotiations over Moscow’s decision to position more than 100,000 military personnel close to neighboring Ukraine. Russia in December had demanded written responses to its demands that Ukraine be forever barred from NATO membership and that the Western military alliance broadly pull back its forces from Russia’s western borders.
Defense Department officials on Wednesday denied leaking what the U.S. has called a confidential “non-paper,” but appeared to confirm the El Pais documents were genuine.
“We did not make this document public. But now that it is, it confirms to the entire world what we have always been saying,” chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said told reporters. “NATO and its partners are unified in their resolve and open to constructive and serious diplomacy.”
El Pais said the documents indicate the U.S. and NATO would be willing to discuss a “transparency mechanism” to confirm the absence of Tomahawk missiles at Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland. “Aegis Ashore” is a land-based version of the Navy’s missile defense system.
Washington is denying charges from Moscow that the missile sites in Poland and Romania could easily be adapted to fire the offensive cruise missiles rather than interceptors that ram their target and don’t carry warheads.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called them “offensive systems that could reach thousands of kilometers into our territory. Isn’t that a threat to us?” he asked at a Tuesday press conference in Moscow.
According to the documents published in the Spanish newspaper, U.S. diplomats said they would have to discuss the issue with NATO partners and other allies before any steps could be taken.
“The United States has gone the extra mile to find a diplomatic solution,” Mr. Kirby said. “If Russia actually wants to negotiate a solution as it claims it does, this document makes clear there is a path forward to do so.”
The leaked U.S. text once again called on Mr. Putin to stand down: “Progress can only be achieved on these issues in an environment of de-escalation with respect to Russia’s threatening actions towards Ukraine.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry and chief Kremlin spokesman also declined to comment on the leaks or confirm their accuracy, but Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov predicted last week the confidential responses would likely become public because they had been shared broadly throughout the 30 countries of NATO.
Mr. Putin told reporters in Moscow Tuesday that the U.S. and NATO responses had largely ignored Russia’s core security concerns, but the Kremlin said an official response to the documents was still being formulated.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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