The United States has told Russia it is willing to discuss giving the Kremlin a way to verify the absence of Tomahawk cruise missiles at NATO bases in Romania and Poland, if Russia would be willing to share similar information about missiles on certain Russian bases, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed concern about the threat from NATO missile-defense bases in Romania and Poland.
The US proposal seeks to address those concerns as it looks to defuse the crisis over a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border.
The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Bloomberg report.
A source familiar with the situation said the United States has only offered to have talks on a variety of concerns that Russia has, including arms control issues in the appropriate forums.
“Everything we would agree to do would be reciprocal” meaning that it would entail actions from Russia as well” and would only be done after full consultations with allies and partners,” the source said.
Russia has massed more than 100 000 troops on the Ukrainian border and Western countries say they fear Putin may be planning to invade.
Russia denies this but has said it could take unspecified military action unless its security demands are met.
