Lavrov reiterates Russia’s demand for NATO to stop expanding at meeting with Blinken

GENEVA, January 21. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s demand for NATO to stop its continuous expansion at a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, as he himself said at a press conference following the talks. "As for our principled approach to the need for NATO to stop its continuous expansion to the east, we did reiterate it. Antony Blinken reiterated his position about countries’ right to choose alliances and I, as I have already said, wondered how America was going to fulfill its obligations within the OSCE, which were approved at the highest level along with the right to choose alliances, including the obligation not to strengthen one’s security at the expense of the security of others. He promised to explain the US attitude to the implementation of this obligation," Lavrov noted. The Russian top diplomat once again explained why the issue of NATO’s expansion was crucial for Moscow. "As for the need to stop NATO’s expansion, many are asking why we view it as crucial. It’s simply because the bloc was initially aimed against the Soviet Union and now it acts against Russia, which is what its doctrinal documents say," the foreign minister said. "Here is an example: when Eastern European nations, namely the Poles and the Baltic states, were striving to join NATO, we warned the West that it would be a mistake as it would in no way enhance NATO’s security and would only fuel extremist sentiment. However, we were repeatedly assured that it was the other way around and when those countries joined NATO, their Soviet-era phobias would wane and they would turn into our peaceful neighbors. However, the opposite happened," Lavrov stressed. According to him, the Russophobic minority led by Poland and the Baltic nations rules the day not only within NATO but also in the European Union, making it pursue a futile anti-Russian policy on all matters. On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. Consultations on the issue took place in Geneva on January 10, followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels on January 12 and a session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council in Vienna on January 13. Read more