Smoldering Ukraine conflict
Lavrov: Moscow wants “good relations” with the USA
1/30/2022 1:33 p.m
Moscow emphasizes it several times: They strive for peace and respectful relations with the USA. “We don’t want war, we don’t need it at all,” says Russian Security Council chief Patrushev. At the same time, Foreign Minister Lavrov complained that the NATO line of defense was moving more and more to the east.
According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russia is striving for respectful relations with the United States, regardless of the tensions in the Ukraine conflict. “We want good, equal and mutually respectful relations with the United States, as with any country in the world,” Lavrov said on Russian television. At the same time, he stressed that Russia “does not want to remain in a situation where our security is violated on a daily basis.”
Lavrov complained that NATO’s defense line was steadily moving eastward and had now come “very close” to Ukraine. Ukraine’s NATO accession would seriously damage relations between the West and Russia, the Russian foreign minister said. Moscow will therefore continue to try not only to obtain political assurances, but also “legally binding guarantees” to protect Russia’s “legitimate interests”.
Security Council chief laments “absurdity”
Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev has denied allegations that his country poses a threat to Ukraine. “There is currently talk of Russia threatening Ukraine,” Patrushev said in St. Petersburg, according to the Interfax agency. “This is a complete absurdity, there is no threat.”
The former head of Russia’s domestic intelligence service FSB also accused the West of spreading “self-interested inventions” about a possible war. “We don’t want war, we don’t need it at all,” said Patrushev.
Reports of a massive Russian troop deployment near Ukraine have been causing concern in the West for weeks. It is feared that Moscow could plan an attack on the neighboring country. The Kremlin denies this. It is also considered possible that fears are only being fueled in order to persuade the NATO countries to make concessions regarding new security guarantees.
Controversy over NATO eastward expansion
Last Wednesday, NATO and the United States responded in writing to Moscow’s demands for guarantees of security in Europe. However, both sides showed no willingness to negotiate, especially with a view to binding commitments for an end to NATO’s eastward expansion.
Moscow’s further course of action now also depends on answers from the member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov on state television. Russia had written to the OSCE countries asking how they intend to ensure that their own security is not strengthened at the expense of the interests of another state.