Moscow, Russia: The written solutions offered by the US and NATO to Russia’s security requests do not satisfy Moscow’s worries about the military alliance’s eastward expansion, Russia’s Foreign Minister warned Thursday, as fears of an invasion of Ukraine remain high.
“There is no positive reaction on the main issue in this document,” Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Moscow. “The main issue is our clear position on the inadmissibility of further expansion of NATO to the East and the deployment of strike weapons that could threaten the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Tensions between Moscow and Kiev are at an all-time high, with a major Russian force buildup near the two former Soviet republics’ common borders.
Russia has frequently rejected plans for an invasion, but has said that NATO backing for Ukraine, including expanded arms supply and military training, poses a rising threat on its western flank.
Lavrov stated that the United States and NATO had already pledged, within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), not to grow at the price of Russia’s safety.
“We present non-verbal promises, written documents signed by the leaders of all the OSCE countries, including the President of the United States (Istanbul Declaration of 1999, Astana Declaration of 2010), our Western partners have to get out from a more serious situation,” Lavrov added. “This principle is expressed explicitly. It has two major techniques that are intertwined. First, every state has the freedom to select its military alliances freely. Second, each state has a responsibility to ensure its own security without jeopardizing the security of others.”
“In other words, the right to choose alliances is clearly conditioned by the need to take into account the security interests of any other OSCE state, including the Russian Federation,” Lavrov said.
The Russian Foreign Minister acknowledged that the US and NATO replies may spark meaningful debate, but only on secondary topics.
“There is a reaction there that allows us to count on the beginning of a serious conversation, but on secondary topics,” he added.
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov expressed similar reservations, stating that on the surface, Russia’s main issues had not been addressed. He, on the other hand, declined to issue an official decisive reaction to the US and NATO answers.
During a conference call with journalists, Peskov said that Vladimir Putin had seen the written comments from both the US and NATO, but that the Russian President and his government would not jump to any conclusions.
He stated, “The President already read the written responses,” “The President has all of the paperwork. We’ll take our time analyzing them and won’t jump to any conclusions.”
Russia’s formal response would be quick, but Peskov warned that it would not be immediate.