No NATO expansion is key to Russia's national security
(Baonghean.vn) - The issue of not expanding NATO is a key requirement for Russia's national security, and resolving this issue cannot be delayed any longer. That was the statement made by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday.
"This is a matter of Russia's national security," Ryabkov told journalists after Russia-US talks on security guarantees.
“The situation is so dangerous that we cannot afford to delay addressing this fundamental issue,” he noted.
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Photo: Tass |
Russia also needs firm guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will never join the NATO military alliance.
"We emphasize that for Russia it is absolutely necessary to ensure that Ukraine never becomes a member of NATO. We want the formula adopted at the Bucharest summit in 2008 to be canceled and replaced with the following clause: 'Ukraine and Georgia will never become members of the North Atlantic Alliance,'" Ryabkov told reporters.
"We are tired of empty talk, half-hearted promises, misinterpretations, which are so often done behind closed doors. We do not trust the other side. We need ironclad guarantees, legally meaningful guarantees, not promises, but guarantees, with the words 'must', 'must', and never become a member of NATO. This is a matter of Russia's national security," Ryabkov stressed.
Russia and the US conclude negotiations in Geneva, the Ukraine issue is rarely mentioned
The Russian-American meeting on strategic stability has ended in Geneva, as the US permanent representative to the local UN Office informed Sputnik.
