#Russia sends written response to US over Ukraine crisis proposal

Russia has sent a written response to the United States’ de-escalation proposal regarding the Ukraine crisis after the two countries publicly exchanged verbal blows in a heated U.N. Security Council debate, according to three officials with the Biden administration.

The officials, who spoke to the Associated Press on conditions of anonymity, did not disclose the details of the response from Russia. A State Department official said it “would be unproductive to negotiate in public” and said they would leave it up to Russia to discuss its counterproposal.

The response comes as the US tries to quell fears of a possible Russian invasion into Ukraine as it has deployed some 100,000 Russian troops to the Ukrainian border.

U.S. and NATO officials had sent a written proposal to address The Kremlin’s demands from the West, including barring Ukraine from joining NATO.

The U.S. and NATO rejected that demand, upholding the alliance’s open-door policy outlined in Article 10 of its founding document. They also said deployments of troops and military equipment in Eastern Europe is non-negotiable.

“We continue to urge diplomacy as the best way forward, but with Russia continuing its buildup of forces around Ukraine, we are ready no matter what happens,” Biden said on Monday, saying the countries have been engaged in “nonstop” discussions on the tense situation.

At Monday’s U.N. At The Security Council meeting, Russian envoy Vasily Nebenzya lambasted his American counterpart, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, of “whipping up hysterics” about the possibility of a Russian incursion and using “megaphone diplomacy.”

“You are almost pulling for this,” he said, looking at Thomas-Greenfield. “You want it to happen. You’re waiting for it to happen, as if you want to make your words become a reality.”

Thomas-Greenfield responded by telling Nebenzya, “Imagine how uncomfortable you would be if you had 100,000 troops on your border.”

With Post wires