(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration has informed the Kremlin it is willing to discuss giving Russia a way to verify there aren't offensive Tomahawk cruise missiles stationed at sensitive NATO missile-defense bases in Romania and Poland, according to people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. proposal is aimed at allaying Moscow's concerns the launchers could be used to target Russia. One person added any agreement would only happen after discussion with allies, especially Poland and Romania, and would need to be reciprocated with a number of Russian bases housing ground-launched weapons.
There are no offensive missiles, such as ground-launched Tomahawks, at the sites in Poland and Romania. Even so, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly suggested the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization could use the Aegis Ashore missile-defense systems to fire Tomahawks, because both kinds of weapons use the same launchers.
The proposal reflects U.S. efforts to find some common ground with Russia as it seeks to defuse tensions over Ukraine. Moscow has massed troops on the Ukraine border, with the U.S. and others warning an invasion could come soon unless a diplomatic off-ramp is found. Russia has repeatedly denied it plans to attack Ukraine, but Putin has demanded security guarantees, including that NATO close its doors to new members in the region and not deploy offensive weapons near his borders.
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Spokespeople for the White House's National Security Council didn't immediately comment.
Putin held out hope Tuesday that diplomacy would help resolve the tensions. But he also cited the bases in Poland and Romania as a threat.
“There are anti-missile launchers in Poland and Romania, there are MK-41 launchers there, on which you can place Tomahawks, which is already not missile defense but offensive weapons systems, which will cover our territory for thousands of kilometers,” he told reporters in Moscow. He added, “Is this not a threat to us?”
NATO argues the Aegis weapons are purely defensive, aimed at ballistic missiles from places like Iran. Aegis rockets, defensive weapons that can't carry warheads and are designed to collide with and destroy ballistic missiles outside of the atmosphere, aren't technically able to shoot down long-range missiles from Russia. Putin has said Russia has no way to be sure what kinds of missiles are deployed in Poland and Russia.
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Romania maintains it has an open invitation for Russian officials to visit its facility if the requirement of reciprocity is met. An official familiar with Poland's stance told Bloomberg the country could also agree to anti-missile checks by Russia in return for inspections in the sensitive enclave of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland. It's not clear whether Russia would agree to give the U.S. access to its missile sites.
The U.S. and NATO allies have set out several areas for potential cooperation -– including arms control and greater transparency around military exercises –- while rejecting the Kremlin's principle asks on NATO, including that the military alliance rewinds its presence in the east of Europe.
Western officials say Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border, with the figures rising steadily since November. The U.K. and U.S. put the current numbers close to 130,000.
Moscow has yet to respond in detail to the overall U.S. proposals. Russia's foreign secretary Sergei Lavrov wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken in late January asking the U.S. to clarify its interpretation of “the principle of equal and indivisible security that is fundamental to the entire European security architecture,” according to a copy released Tuesday by Russia's Foreign Ministry. Moscow shared similar letters with other western nations.
In the letters, Lavrov said the U.S. and NATO responses to Russia's demands so far showed “serious differences in the understanding” of such principles. “We believe it is necessary to immediately clarify this issue, as it will determine the prospects for future dialogue,” he wrote.
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