The Russian Defense Ministry is ready to begin negotiations with the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) on security guarantees. This was stated on Monday, December 27, by the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexander Fomin, commenting on the course of consultations on the draft treaties between Russia and the United States and NATO on security guarantees.
“We believe that this agreement has been developed in the interests of both Russia and Europe as a whole. We look forward to a serious, constructive conversation. We expect from the alliance a prompt substantive reaction to our proposals and are ready to start negotiations at any convenient moment, ”Fomin said.
According to Fomin, this year NATO countries spent $ 1.174 trillion on military needs, this figure exceeds the military budget of the Russian Federation by more than 18 times. NATO plans military containment of Russia, while earlier the alliance paid attention to joint projects of interest to NATO, the deputy head of the department said.
At the same time, Fomin stressed that Russia has always been unprecedentedly open to a constructive partnership with the West and has carried out a voluntary demilitarization of the country on its western borders.
The proposals on security guarantees put forward by Russia were heard in the United States, and in Ukraine, and in the NATO countries, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on the same day.
Moscow is insisting at the moment “on obtaining legal, legally binding security guarantees” from the countries of the alliance, he added.
Earlier that day, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas pointed out that after the RF proposals to NATO on security guarantees, tension in the East European direction should decrease.
According to him, on the western borders of the CSTO’s zone of responsibility, NATO’s military infrastructure is being built up, including groupings of troops capable of solving offensive tasks, organizing dangerous provocations in the immediate vicinity of the borders of the CSTO member states, as well as increasing hostile rhetoric and imposing new sanctions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 24 that the Russian Federation expects to receive concrete answers from the United States in January to proposals on security guarantees. At the same time, he stressed that the United States and European countries are conducting unambiguous maneuvers and exercises in the immediate vicinity of the borders of the Russian Federation, and this cannot but cause concern on the Russian side.
On the same day, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, announced that Moscow had received an offer from the North Atlantic Alliance to hold a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in January 2022. She reaffirmed the Kremlin’s readiness for a direct dialogue with NATO on the Russian draft agreements on security guarantees.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
