Russia warns US and NATO of military retaliation

According to RIA Novosti on December 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with RIA Novosti that the US and NATO will receive a decisive response in the form of military-technical measures from Moscow if they create a new missile threat to Russia.

Responding to the question of whether in the current situation it is possible to repeat “NATO's dual decision”, Foreign Minister Lavrov stressed that he does not think it is worth speculating about what can and cannot happen “in the minds of those who make decisions in the North Atlantic Alliance”.

“For our part, we are ready for any situation. In case of new missile threats, the opponent will receive a decisive response in the form of military-technical countermeasures. Dialogue measures will be taken into account,” Foreign Minister Lavrov said.

Russia may be interested only in the comprehensive context of reducing the risk of conflict with a focus on eliminating the root causes of fundamental contradictions in the security sphere, he added.

“First of all, it includes NATO’s long-term expansion to the East. This is the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis and continues to pose a threat to Russia’s security. In theory, this issue could also be discussed, but it is only a part of a broader agenda,” Lavrov noted.

The “NATO dual solution” was approved by the leaders of the US, UK, France and Germany on December 12, 1979, including the deployment of US medium-range missiles in Europe, while continuing negotiations with the Soviet Union on eliminating this type of missile.

Pershing missiles were deployed in West Germany from 1983 to 1985, accompanied by unprecedented protests. The largest action took place on October 22, 1983, when, according to some estimates, some 1.2 million people took to the streets in German cities.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that in the process of rearming its strategic nuclear forces, Russia clearly complies with the limits set out in the Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

“We have always adhered to what was stated: by explicitly including the rearmament of Russia's strategic nuclear forces within the limits of the New START Treaty, we are carefully monitoring Washington's actions,” the minister added.

Assessing the current situation of the Ukraine conflict, Mr. Lavrov said that Kiev and the West need a discussion on the possibility of establishing a ceasefire in Ukraine to have time to rest and develop the potential of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, then continue to cause damage to Russia. "This is a dead end," the Russian Foreign Minister affirmed.