Russia on Thursday reiterated it has no "aggressive plans" against NATO or EU members, and that it is ready to guarantee this in writing.
“We have no aggressive plans, as President [Vladimir Putin] has clearly stated, against either NATO or EU members. We are prepared to formalize the corresponding guarantees in writing, in a legal document. Naturally, on a collective, reciprocal basis,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said while addressing a roundtable discussion in Moscow with ambassadors and representatives of international organisations.
Lavrov said recent talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow resolved the “misunderstandings and miscommunications” between the two countries that arose after the Alaska summit in August.
He added that the Russian side continues to build on the understandings reached with Washington at the summit, as part of which he said they conveyed “additional proposals” regarding collective security guarantees.
“We understand that discussions on security guarantees cannot be limited to Ukraine alone,” he said.
Lavrov said Russia is ready to consider all available proposals “formulated in a collective context” that will lead to the conclusion of legally binding agreements, expressing: “We don't want one crisis to be immediately followed by another.”
He also accused Western countries of trying to “exploit” the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war to “divert attention” from “other crucial issues” facing the global community, including Palestine.
