Russia Will Make Proposals To Stop Further NATO Expansion, Lavrov Briefs OSCE Ministers

Dec. 3, 2021 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) yesterday that Moscow is going to put forward proposals aimed at stopping NATO’s further expansion. “[W]e insist that agreements mentioned by President Putin, whose conclusion we will demand, should be legally binding and obligatory for all parties. We will send the relevant proposals to our Western colleagues in the near future, and we expect them to treat this matter in earnest,” Lavrov said.

On Nov. 18, President Vladimir Putin made a directive during his address to a meeting of the expanded Foreign Ministry Board. At that meeting, he told Lavrov and the assembled diplomats that it is vital to ensure that the tensions with NATO do not escalate into a conflict which Russia does not need. Then, turning to the Foreign Minister, he said “Mr. Lavrov, it is imperative to push for serious long-term guarantees that ensure Russia’s security in this area, because Russia cannot constantly be thinking about what could happen there tomorrow.” As difficult as reaching an agreement in that border area might be, Putin said, “we need to work on this, and I want you to keep that in mind.”