The principle “the boy said – the boy did” must be respected in the international arena, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with RT, commenting on the progress of negotiations with the United States on security guarantees.
“We will strive to ensure that everything is fair. I do not want to turn to jargon, but we have a concept – “the kid said – the kid did.” At the very least, the “concepts” must be respected at the international level,” the head of the department said.
Moscow wants to convey to the United States and NATO member countries that promises will not satisfy it in this matter, Lavrov explained. As it turned out, the written commitments of the heads of state and government, according to which the North Atlantic Alliance must fully take into account the interests of Russia, are worth nothing, the minister added.
Lavrov noted that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he was ready to meet after Moscow responded to Washington’s and NATO’s responses on security assurances received on January 26. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) presented the corresponding document to the US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan yesterday. The response is posted on the department’s website.
The Foreign Ministry sent proposals on security guarantees to the US and NATO on December 17 last year. The documents contained three main demands: to refrain from further expansion of the alliance to the east, including the entry of Ukraine and Georgia into it, from the deployment of ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles outside the territory of the alliance, and also to return the infrastructure of the military bloc to the borders of 1997.
Yesterday’s Foreign Ministry document stated that Washington did not provide Moscow with a constructive response to the “basic elements” of the draft security guarantees treaty. The agency warned that because the United States is not ready to negotiate legally binding security guarantees, “Russia will be forced to respond, including through the implementation of measures of a military-technical nature.”