NATO’s actions towards Ukraine are pushing Kiev towards a more aggressive foreign policy. This was stated by the Russian Ambassador to Great Britain Andrei Kelin on Tuesday, January 11.
“NATO is pushing Ukraine to essentially occupy a more aggressive [позицию]… We don’t want that, ”the head of the Russian diplomatic mission said in an interview with Sky News TV channel.
Kelin compared the situation to the events in Georgia in 2008, when the country was promised NATO membership.
“And Georgia began to behave aggressively towards Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” the ambassador recalled.
He assured that Russia is not going to “send troops” to Ukraine, and noted that the entry of Ukraine and Georgia into NATO will not contribute to a decrease in security in Europe and may even provoke a war. He added that in reality Russia is seeking to reduce tensions in the European region.
In addition, the Russian ambassador noted the aggressive actions of NATO near the Russian borders: the exercises of the navy in the Black Sea and the increase in the military contingent in Poland.
“This is dangerous for us, there is a risk of a full-scale war, that is why we must act. We are conducting exercises, it’s no secret that the troops [России] ready to respond to any threats, “- quotes from an interview with” RIA Novosti “.
Regarding the talks on security, Kelin noted: Russia wants to agree “once and for all” on “principles of coexistence” with NATO and the United States to stabilize the situation in Europe and to fix these provisions on paper. The ambassador also said that the idea of Russia joining NATO is unrealistic and has always been that way.
Western media on January 11 assessed the Russian-American talks on security guarantees, which took place the day before in Geneva. Thus, the newspaper The New York Times came to the conclusion that the victory in the first meeting remained with Russia.
Security guarantees are negotiated in three phases. On January 10, a meeting of the Russian and US delegations took place in Geneva. On January 12, Brussels will host a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council, and the next day, consultations are scheduled at the Vienna platform of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
On January 10, a conversation between the delegations of Russia and the United States took place at the United States’ Permanent Mission in a format closed to the press. The negotiations lasted approximately 7.5 hours. After the conversation, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov compared the nature of the negotiations with the American side with the dialogue from the 1988 American crime fighter Red Heat. The diplomat also noted that the conversation was “difficult, long, very professional, deep, specific.”
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.
