Disarmament specialist Sokov: Moscow and Washington face acute crisis in 2022
Photo: The White House / Reuters
Nikolai Sokov, a leading researcher at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation, predicted a new and even more acute crisis between Russia and the United States in the spring of 2022. In a commentary to Lente.ru, he suggested that the current crisis around Ukraine could be somewhat defused.
“But if nothing radical happens, then in the spring there will be a new, even more acute crisis,” the specialist warned. He noted that the situation in Europe will remain dangerous and deteriorate more and more rapidly. However, until what is happening “does not come to the last line”, one should not expect serious interaction between Moscow and Washington.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused the United States and NATO of unwillingness to carry out the necessary work in the field of security guarantees in Europe. According to him, this is indicated by the talks of the American side about “raising rates” by Russia in the light of the publication of Russian initiatives in this area.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements with NATO and the United States on security guarantees in Europe. The initiatives contain demands not to view Moscow as an adversary, not to create a threat of military escalation, and to abandon NATO's eastward expansion. Russia also proposed to the alliance countries not to include Ukraine in the organization.
