Russia says it is ready to enshrine pledge not to attack NATO, EU in future security guarantees

ISTANBUL

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday said that Moscow is ready to enshrine its pledge not to attack any NATO or EU member state in future security guarantees.

“We have repeatedly stated that we have never had and have no intentions to attack any current NATO or EU member state. We are prepared to enshrine this position in future security guarantees for this part of Eurasia,” Lavrov said in an address at the plenary session of the 3rd International Conference on Eurasian Security in Belarus’ capital, Minsk.

In this context, Lavrov argued that EU leaders are avoiding such discussions with Russia and are instead seeking post-war security guarantees against Moscow.

Lavrov added that Russia wants the Arctic to be "a region of peace and cooperation," but that NATO's plans to increase its presence in the region "cannot but raise concerns."

He also accused NATO of expanding toward the Asia-Pacific region with its objective of "containing China, isolating Russia, and confronting North Korea," and blamed the West for preparing for a "new major European war."

The Russian foreign minister reaffirmed Moscow's claim that European NATO members are prolonging the Russia-Ukraine war. He claimed that most of them are doing "everything in their power" to persuade Washington to abandon the idea of resolving the over three-and-a-half-year conflict.

“We hope that US President Donald Trump remains sincerely committed to resolving the Ukrainian crisis and will remain committed to the principles developed at the Anchorage summit, which were based on American proposals,” he added.

Despite mediation from Trump, peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv have largely stalled, with both sides accusing each other of the delay in negotiations.