Russian Foreign Minister Finds No Surprises for Russia from NATO Summit

June 29, 2022 (EIRNS)—In a press conference yesterday following a meeting of Caspian Sea foreign ministers in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed the view that there is nothing surprising coming out of the NATO summit in Madrid. “The announced buildup of the armed forces on NATO’s eastern flank to 300,000 troops was planned regardless of what will be written in the documents adopted in Madrid. This was announced long ago and continues the unacceptable policy that violates all previous agreements and promises. Pursuing this line, NATO wants to develop the territory of the former U.S.S.R. and bring its military infrastructure right to the Russian borders,” according to the transcript on the ministry website.

Lavrov argued that NATO has been pursuing this policy beginning from the 2000s, and Moscow has been trying to stop it and instead agree on mutually acceptable forms and methods for ensuring European security. “Since the start of the 2000s, we have been trying to stop it and come to terms on mutually acceptable ways of ensuring European security,” he said. “We made such goodwill attempts many times. President Vladimir Putin personally explained the harmfulness of NATO’s actions in violation of the principle of the indivisibility of security. The foreign and defense ministries were working towards the same end. But all was in vain,” Lavrov went on to say.

Lavrov declared that the West refuses to abide by its own commitments, including on NATO expansion and the Minsk agreements. “Since our words and arguments are completely and arrogantly ignored—and this is an established fact—we are going to draw conclusions on how to deal with our Western neighbors on this planet,” he concluded.