RIAC Director General Kortunov said that Russia cannot be satisfied with the answers of the US and NATO
Andrey Kortunov. Photo: Vladimir Trefilov / RIA Novosti
The Russian International Affairs Council saw hope for the continuation of the negotiation process with NATO. At the same time, RIAC Director General Andrei Kortunov, commenting in a conversation with Lenta.ru on the statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on a dialogue on security guarantees with the alliance, noted that Russia under the current conditions cannot be satisfied with the answers of the United States and NATO.
Lavrov allowed the continuation of negotiations between Russia and the West
At an official meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov said that Russia has the opportunity to agree with the North Atlantic Alliance on security guarantees in Europe. The Foreign Minister reminded the President that the Russian side in the dialogue with NATO insists on the inadmissibility of endless talks on issues that need to be resolved now.
As head of the Foreign Ministry, I must say that there is always a chance (…) Still, our consistent explanatory work and commitment to explaining our rightness while being ready to listen to serious counterarguments: it seems to me that the possibilities are far from being exhausted
Sergei Lavrov head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
In addition, the Russian Foreign Minister said that Moscow's reaction to the written responses from NATO and the EU had already been formulated. According to him, the text of the answer takes ten pages.
RIAC sees hope for continued dialogue between Russia and NATO
“The alternative [to negotiations] is to slam the door and end the conversation. If this is not done, then there is probably [there is] hope that the negotiation process will continue, and this, in turn, means that we are unlikely to focus on military-technical means of ensuring our security,” said the expert .
However, he noted that Russia cannot in any way be satisfied with the responses of the US and NATO to proposals for security guarantees in the current political situation. “But if you look at what our Western partners have agreed to, then in general it is not so little. If they had gone for it, say, six months ago, it would have been considered a big political victory for the Russian Federation,” added Kortunov.
