Russia denies sending response to US as Ukraine tensions worsen

Russian officials on Tuesday denied that Moscow had presented its own counterproposal to the United States after Washington delivered a written document last week aimed at deescalating the worsening security situation on the Russia-Ukraine border.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that Moscow had relayed to Western officials “other considerations, on a somewhat different issue,” according to The Associated Press. But he told reporters there had been “confusion” regarding Russia’s fuller response to the U.S. written document, which he said is still in the works.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko also told the Russian government-owned news agency RIA Novosti that it was “not true” that Moscow had transmitted its response to the United States.

The remarks by the Russian officials come after a State Department spokesperson confirmed on Monday that U.S. officials had “received a written follow-up from Russia.” But the spokesperson declined to provide further details on the communication, saying, “It would be unproductive to negotiate in public, so we’ll leave it up to Russia if they want to discuss their response.”

The back-and-forth between Washington and Moscow began after The Washington Post reported on Monday that Russia had “delivered a written response” to the U.S. written document, which U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan presented to Moscow last Wednesday.

The production of the U.S. written document followed a month of intense talks meant to resolve the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which culminated in Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva.

Blinken left that session pledging to present Russia with a written record of Washington’s concerns about Moscow’s behavior and proposals to end the security crisis. He also said he expected to speak with Lavrov again “in the coming days.”

After the United States presented Russia with its written document last week, however, Russian officials criticized the response, which Lavrov said “contains no positive response on the main issue.”

U.S. officials have refused to provide specifics about the written response they presented to Moscow, but the United States had already ruled out Russia’s major requests: that NATO pull back its presence in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, and that Ukraine and Georgia be permanently barred from joining the military alliance.

Amid the latest confusion over the Russian counterproposal, Blinken and Lavrov are scheduled to speak on Tuesday, while Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to hold a news conference.

Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.