Moscow expects that Friday’s talks in Geneva will help Washington prepare specific responses to all of Russia’s proposals on security guarantees, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"When you called me on the phone and suggested that we should meet so that you could get clarification of our concerns, we thought that it was a fruitful idea because we expect that it [the meeting] will help you prepare specific responses to all of our proposals and put forward your own proposals if you have any," Lavrov noted.
The US-initiated phone call took place on January 18, with Lavrov and Blinken discussing the prospects for contacts in the near future.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. Consultations on the issue took place in Geneva on January 10, followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels on January 12 and a session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council in Vienna on January 13.
On January 17, NATO released a document titled NATO’s Overarching Space Policy. Space, policy, overarching, NATO – what could be wrong? This document sets forth the alliance’s priority objectives and tracks regarding outer space. The average person or anyone lacking professional insight into these matters might not see any threat there. However, an in-depth look into this document reveals that the devil is in the details, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
"This is a biased document. In fact, it is provocative, and is based on the destructive tenets preached by major NATO space powers led by the United States with a view to placing weapons in space, using force or threat of force against the space assets of other countries, and turning outer space into an arena for military confrontation. This is a telling example of how all the assurances of NATO’s peaceful aspirations do not hold water. I would like to pinpoint a small detail, which is not small at all, since we are discussing outer space," dhe added.
This document provides for the possibility of invoking Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (collective defence) in response to attacks to, from, or within outer space. In fact, this provision gives NATO states the freedom to use kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities in outer space since it will be up to NATO to decide on a case-by-case basis whether something qualifies as an “attack.”
This is obviously yet another attempt to legitimise the use of force in outer space, which runs counter to the internationally approved goal of preventing an arms race in space. It seems that the NATO countries believe such behaviour to be a responsible approach to space.
"NATO’s Overarching Space Policy demonstrates yet again that Russia’s proposals on binding security guarantees are relevant and timely, as are our initiatives, which benefit from wide-ranging support on behalf of like-minded countries, to prevent an arms race in outer space. This is a question of drafting a legally binding instrument banning the deployment of any kind of weapon in outer space, using force or threat of force to, from, or within space, as well as having the UN member states undertake a political commitment that they will not be the first to place weapons in outer space," Zakharova stressed.
Marked on January 20, the Republic of Crimea Day was established in 2009 and reaffirmed in 2014 under a law adopted by the Republic of Crimea, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted on Thursday.
"I would like to convey my greetings to all citizens of our country on Republic of Crimea Day. We offer our congratulations to the people living in this Russian region and wish them good health, peace and prosperity within Russia, our united homeland," she added.
This date, as well as the approaching anniversary of the Crimean Spring, gives us a great opportunity to remind everyone that the people living on this peninsula spent more than 20 years fighting for self-determination and justice. They were fighting for the very democracy the West has been preaching, at least in theory, while turning out to be completely oblivious of its commitments and promises in real life. It is in Crimea that we witnessed the ultimate triumph of democracy. This 20-year effort led the people of Crimea back home in 2014. The chronicle of how this popular will and hope gathered momentum among the people of Crimea as they moved toward reunification marks the main milestones of this truly noble cause.
On November 12, 1990, the Crimean Regional Council of People’s Deputies decided at its extraordinary session to hold a referendum on changing the Crimean Region into the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, as it existed until 1945. During the referendum on January 20, 1991 (which is the date for Republic of Crimea Day), more than 93 percent of voters supported recreating the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as an entity within the USSR.
However, Kiev sought to retake the initiative. On February 12, 1991, the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted a law reinstituting the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The corresponding amendments to the 1978 Constitution of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic were adopted just four months later. This distorted the will of Crimeans, but they kept on fighting for their noble cause.
On May 5, 1992, Simferopol adopted the Act of State Independence for the Republic of Crimea, which stipulated the right to elect a president, government and supreme court independently, as well as introduced Crimean citizenship and state languages.
On May 13, 1992, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada recognised the resolutions of the Crimean parliament to promulgate the Act of State Independence and hold a new referendum, as unconstitutional and invalidated them.
On June 14, 1993, Crimea’s Supreme Council created the office of president of the Republic of Crimea. Supported by 72 percent of the voters, Yury Meshkov held this position from February 1994 through March 1995. On March 27, 1994, Crimea held a new referendum with the majority of voters backing the initiatives of the popularly elected president to promote closer integration with Russia.
Ukraine’s Central Election Commission and President called the March 27, 1994, referendum illegal, and in 1995 imposed a constitution on Crimea with both the presidential office and sovereignty missing from it.
The people of Crimea remember all too well how Ukraine trampled upon their rights and freedoms, attacked the Russian language, and sought to artificially impose alien historical views and values, as well as plans to deploy NATO forces, and military exercises openly declaring that Russia was their adversary. Everyone remembers the threats of invasion professed by the Maidan radicals. All this led the people of Crimea to choose, in all solidarity, reunification with Russia in the March 16, 2014, referendum.
"Crimea and Sevastopol have changed over the past few years. I have travelled there many times on work assignments, as well as privately. Crimea has been buzzing with activity. Enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea, inter-ethnic accord is a condition for progress and development. Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean-Tatar are state languages there. Let me remind those who may not know this that Crimea guarantees cultural diversity, equality and mutual enrichment. Isn’t this a great example for the Kiev regime? If Crimea succeeded in this endeavour, Ukraine can also do it. Full steam ahead!" Zakharova stressed.
The growth of neo-Nazi sentiment in Ukraine is of no concern to our Western partners or any relevant international organisations, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
"We call on Western countries to stop the aggressive anti-Russia propaganda campaign, to stop fanning the flames of Ukrainian militarisation by dragging it into NATO, and instead use their influence to encourage Kiev to comply with the Minsk agreements and other international obligations,"she added.
On Thursday, Moscow hosted another Acceptance Day chaired by the General of the Army Sergei Shoigu at the National Centre for State Defence Control, it was dedicated to summing up the implementation of the state defenсe order in the third quarter in terms of arms supplies, military hardware and the construction of military infrastructure facilities.
As the Minister of Defence noted, last year, despite the restrictions associated with the coronavirus infection, reliable and proper work of industrial enterprises and military authorities was organized, and the set pace for the implementation of the state defence order was ensured.
In 2021, the Armed Forces received more than five thousand new and modernized types of weapons, military and special equipment, among them: 900 armored combat vehicles; three modern submarines, including the Knyaz Oleg nuclear submarine armed with Bulava ballistic missiles; 4 surface ships, 10 combat boats, 17 vessels and support boats;151 units of new and modernized aviation equipment, including 77 aircraft, 29 helicopters, 45 complexes with unmanned aerial vehicles; four upgraded Tu-95MS missile carriers; three Bastion coastal missile systems; Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile and gun systems; S-400 Triumph and S-350 Vityaz anti-aircraft missile systems.
The re-equipment of the first missile regiment with the Avangard missile system with intercontinental ballistic missiles equipped with hypersonic glide wing units has been completed. A separate aviation regiment was formed, armed with MiG-31I(K) aircraft with the Kinzhal hypersonic missile.
Thus, the equipping of the army and navy with modern weapons has increased to 71.2%, and strategic nuclear forces to 89.1%. The serviceability of military equipment is maintained at 95%.
"I note that it is intensively used and has proven itself well in the course of various combat readiness checks, exercises, training, military applied competitions" Shoigu added.
Regarding the issue of building facilities for the needs of the Armed Forces, the head of the military department said that in 2021, 3030 buildings and structures were built and put into operation.
Priority measures were implemented within the framework of the State Armaments Program.
More than 690 objects of forces and means of nuclear deterrence have been built.
Places have been equipped to accommodate weapons and equipment entering the troops.
In the interests of the Strategic Missile Forces, silo launchers of strategic missile systems were put on combat duty in the Kaluga and Orenburg regions.
Events continue in Novosibirsk, Nizhny Tagil, Irkutsk, Teikovo and other regions.
As part of the deployment of the Unified Space System, the construction of facilities for the Western modernized command post has been completed.
The development of the airfield network, the Navy’s basing system and the infrastructure of the Arctic group continues.
The implementation of measures in the military districts and in the Northern Fleet made it possible to: ensure the placement of personnel and military equipment in the funds of residential and park areas of military camps; improve the material and technical base of educational institutions of the Ministry of Defence; improve the quality of housing conditions and medical services for servicemen and their families.
“All the tasks set for the military construction complex in 2021 have been completed in full,” the Minister of Defence emphasized. “Thus, a systematic approach to the implementation of the planned activities made it possible to ensure the qualitative development of the Armed Forces.”
The event continued with presentations by Deputy Ministers of Defence of the Russian Federation Alexei Krivoruchko and Timur Ivanov.
Summing up, I would like to note that equipping the Armed Forces with the latest models of military equipment makes it possible to ensure the military security of our country and guaranteed protection of its national interests.
"The President of Russia set the task to bring the level of modernity of weapons, military and special equipment to 72.7% by the end of the year. For its implementation, it is necessary to continue the practice of concluding long-term contracts with advanced financing for all major types of weapons, including high-tech weapons," Head of the Military Department said .
The military construction complex is to put into operation 3,000 buildings and structures in key areas of development of the infrastructure of troops (forces) in accordance with the Action Plan of the Ministry of Defence until 2025, the State Armaments Program for 2018-2027 and the state defence order.
Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Thursday.
Vladimir Putin is in constant contact with Sergei Sobyanin on various issues, but from time to time, like today, he is interested in how the mayor of the capital sees the overall situation in the metropolis.
A very important objective indicator: there is practically no unemployment in the city, the combination of "remote work" with the traditional form of labor organization gave such a positive result: the level of registered unemployment does not exceed half a percent! And this despite the fact that the population of Moscow is growing rapidly.
In terms of growth rates of key sectors of the economy, Moscow has surpassed the level of the pre-Covid 2019. For example, industrial production grew by 28 percent, and construction by 23 percent! Built 7.7 million square meters of housing, and 8.3 of non-residential property. Investors are filled with optimism: for every ruble invested by the city, there are 3-4 rubles of private investment. Fears that catering and trade will “collapse” due to COVID did not materialize.
The city occupies the highest places in international hospitality ratings, another confirmation of this is this: last year several restaurants received the so-called "Michelin stars", this is an international quality criterion, which means, literally, the following: "it certainly makes sense to come here, the cuisine and the service on the highest level."
The rapidly growing metropolis requires the development of transport infrastructure, as they say, "at a faster pace." Dozens of new metro stations are put into operation every year.
The President personally took part in the opening ceremonies of the stations several times. He is aware that there has never been such a pace of construction in history. Tunneling of the Big Circle Metro Line, 70 kilometers long, has already been completed.
Right now, when Moscow is almost at the highest point of development in its history, the draft application of the city to host Expo 2030 looks more appropriate than ever. Russia has been participating in the World Universal Exhibitions since the middle of the 19th century.
The approximate location of Expo 2030 has been determined, in case Moscow wins against competitors, exhibition pavilions will be built near Vnukovo. The subway and MCD will reach there in the near future, the high-speed Kiev highway and Vnukovo airport will be nearby. In fact, this could become another powerful cluster both in terms of new jobs and in terms of increasing the pace of the city's development.
Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday that he would like to hear his position concerning the situation around the Iran nuclear deal.
"It is very important for me to know your position on the JCPoA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran nuclear deal]," the Russian president said.
Greeting his counterpart and mentioning the points of contact with Tehran, Putin said that as an observer, Iran is an active participant in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). He added that Iran’s relations with the Eurasian Economic Union are developing based on the interim agreement.
"We are doing active work to establish a free trade zone between Iran and our assembly," the Russian president added.
The Russian president stated that their talks involve an extended agenda.
"I am very pleased to see you. And at the very beginning of our meeting I would like to ask you to convey my best wishes to the spiritual leader, Mr. Khamenei, upon your return to Tehran," Putin concluded.
The two presidents are holding talks in the Grand Kremlin Palace’s St. Catherine Hall, where Putin usually receives foreign visitors. Nevertheless, the epidemiological situation has had an impact on the routine protocol. Putin and Raisi are seated at a large oval table in the middle of the hall, a few meters apart, with only two interpreters beside them.
The Iranian side has handed over to Moscow a draft agreement on strategic cooperation for a 20-year period, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said.
"We handed over to our Russian colleagues a document on strategic cooperation between our countries which can determine prospects for at least 20 years," he said. According to the Iranian president, "the current level of trade and economic relations [between Iran and Russia] is not satisfactory." "We can increase the level of our trade and economic cooperation by several times," he added.
Raisi also noted "the very good experience of cooperation between Iran and Russia in Siberia in combating terrorism." "This experience can create the prerequisites for its expansion and exploitation in other fields. In the present circumstances, it is possible to develop cooperation in the fields of economy, politics, culture, science, technology, defense, and military spheres, as well as security and space issues," the Iranian president pointed out.
"We would like our relations with Russia to be strengthened and comprehensive. These relations won’t be short-term or positional but long-term and strategic," the Iranian head of state noted. In addition, he thanked his Russian counterpart "for facilitating Tehran’s entry into the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization)".
On January 19, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Moscow on his official visit. The meeting with Putin was the first since the Iranian politician took office. On January 20, Raisi is expected to speak at Russia’s State Duma and at the Moscow Cathedral Mosque.
The first units of the Russian Armed Forces involved in the inspection of the Union State’s response forces have arrived in Belarus, Russia’s Defense Ministry told journalists on Wednesday.
"The first units of the Russian Armed Forces involved in the inspection of the Union State’s response forces have arrived in the Republic of Belarus. The units of the Eastern Military District involved in the inspection of the Union State’s response forces, with regular equipment and weapons, undertook a combined march on their own and by rail to unfamiliar places where training tasks are performed on the territory of the Republic of Belarus," the ministry said.
According to the ministry, the inspection will take place in two stages. At the first stage, by February 9, the redeployment and establishment of groupings of troops on the territory of Belarus will be carried out as soon as possible. "During the second stage, the "Union Resolve 2022" joint exercise will be held from February 10 to 20, when issues of repelling external aggression, as well as countering terrorism and protecting the interests of the Union State will be worked out," the ministry stressed.
According to the defense ministry, during the exercises, activities will be taken to strengthen the state border protection to prevent penetration by militants, to block supply channels for weapons and ammunition, as well as to search for and eliminate illegal armed formations and the enemy’s sabotage and reconnaissance groups.
Our approaches are absolutely substantiated. They are clear and open," he said after talks with German Foreign Minister Analena Baerbock. "We are hoping that, repeated multiple times, these approaches have been heard in Berlin and Paris, because there’s no hope they heard them in Kiev."
"There’s only hope that Berlin and Paris will lean on Mr. Zelensky to make good on what he promised multiple times."
Lavrov stressed Russia would be ready to help to create conditions for implementing the Minsk accords.
He also said Ukraine did nothing to carry out the decisions of the Normandy Format talks among Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France that took place in in Paris in 2019.
"The Normandy Four had a summit in Paris in 2019, we have recalled that today, where difficult talks ended with the formulation and approval by all the participants of the summit of specific steps that the government in Kiev, first of all, has to make," Lavrov said. "Nothing has been done along those lines so far."
Therefore, Russia needs to understand before any further talks what the sides would bring to the table if the talks were to resume in some format, he said. Foreign policy advisors in the Normandy Format countries are now making efforts to that effect, he said.
Zelensky’s office said last week that Kiev was ready for decisions that would be regarded as necessary at the next Normandy Format talks. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in comments about that statement that implementing the existing decisions should be a priority.
Previous Trump's administration previously appointed a special representative for Ukrainian settlement, Lavrov said. The representative worked independently of the Normandy Format and the Contact Group, the minister said.
"He had peculiar views on who has to do what, and these views, honestly, contradicted the content of the Minsk package of measures," Lavrov said. "We have reasons to believe that the current administration views the situation around the Ukrainian settlement in a more realistic way."
"In particular, it acknowledges that the problem of the special status of Donbass needs to be resolved first," the minister said.
As soon as there’s clarity about the powers that should be granted to the governments in Donetsk and Lugansk in accordance with the Minsk accords, Lavrov said, it will be easier to make progress with the other issues. He said Kiev is trying to sidestep the political aspects of the Minsk agreements and focus instead on issues of secondary importance.
Lavrov said Russia will welcome US efforts to help the settlement in Ukraine, as the US has enormous influence over the government in Kiev.
Two battalions of air defense systems S-400 and twelve Sukhoi-35 fighter jets will be sent to Belarus from Russia for participation in Union Resolve 2022 exercise to be held next month for testing the readiness of the Union State’s collective reaction force, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said on Tuesday.
"Within the framework of testing the functioning of the single air defense system of the Union State twelve Sukhoi-35 planes and two battalions of the air defense system S-400, as well as a missile and artillery battalion Pantsir-S will be redeployed to Belarus," Fomin said.
He stressed that the hardware redeployment would take place during the first of the two phases of the readiness checks of the Union State’s collective force. The first phase will last till February 9. Military groups will be redeployed to protect the most endangered routes and key government and military facilities, as well as the Union State’s air border.
Fomin said that "the readiness and ability will be checked of the air defense forces on duty, including the joint command combat air defense center, to provide protection for key facilities in the territory of Belarus.
Alongside this, he said, during this phase the military units delegated by Russia’s Eastern Military Region and Belarusian forces involved will be conducting firing practice and other drills. Tactical exercises will be held at different proving grounds to practice defensive operations and struggle against illegal armed groups, Fomin said.
Russia would like for relations between Moscow and Berlin to be more constructive and aims to overcome accumulated problems with all new members of the German government, Sergey Lavrov said opening talks with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday.
"Certainly, we would like to see a more constructive state of the Russian-German relations, we aim to overcome the accumulated problems with all members of the new government and are invariably interested in good relations with Germany on the principles of mutual respect, equality, and the consideration of mutual interests," he said.
The Russian top diplomat also noted that he appreciated the opportunity to conduct the talks only several weeks after Germany’s new government was formed and started work.
"I am very grateful to you for the January 10 letter to me in a positive tonality. I would like to particularly stress your statement on the centuries-old and historical links between the people of Russia and Germany as well as on the joint responsibility for the successful development of bilateral relations. I am absolutely of the same mind. I hope that today we will work precisely in this spirit," the Russian foreign minister emphasized.
Berlin sees no alternative to stable relations with Moscow, and the new German government is ready to work on maintaining them, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
"During my visit, I would like to emphasize how important relations with the Russian Federation are for the new federal government and for me personally. There is no alternative to stable relations between Moscow and Berlin. I would like to continue working on this task, and here I speak on behalf of the entire new federal government," she said during talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"It is important for me that today we can calmly discuss a whole range of bilateral and international topics, and devote enough time to them. These are topics where we can improve our relations together, and those where our friendship is experiencing difficulties these days," the German top diplomat added.
Baerbock also spotlighted the "deep historical dimension" of German-Russian relations.
"Therefore, today, during my first visit to Moscow, it will be important for me to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The historical depth and the historical pain between our countries are also a task, an assignment for politics in the present and for future generations. This is a mission and a task for reconciliation between nations and peoples," she said.
Washington continues to meddle with Bosnia-Herzegovina’s domestic affairs and connive in attempts at demonizing the Republic of Srpska, Sergey Lavrov said on Monday after talks with his visiting Croatian counterpart, Gordan Grlic Radman.
"Active attempts are currently being made to turn Bosnia from a state with two entities and three state-constituting nations enjoying equal rights into a unitary state. And the Republic of Srpska and its leaders are being demonized for these purposes and with the acquiescence of some Western countries, first of all, the United States," he said.
"It is quite telling that despite all its calls for non-interference into the domestic affairs of other countries, the United States has appointed a special envoy for electoral reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We think it quite telling from the point of view of the United States’ approaches to the Western Balkans problems," Lavrov noted.
According to the Russian top diplomat, Moscow sees obvious discrimination of Bosnian Croatians in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the reform of election laws is called to change this situation. This reform needs to be "completed as soon as possible on the basis of the Dayton principles of equality of the three state-constituting nations and two entities."
In a bid to protect the rights of the Croatian national minority in Bosnia-Herzegovina ahead of the general elections in that country in 2022, Croatia’s authorities call on the neighboring country to reform its election laws to grant ethnic Croatians the possibility to elect their representative to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
US officials have disseminated a batch of total disinformation about Russia allegedly preparing a provocation in order to justify "the so-called Russian invasion of Ukraine," Lavrov said at a press conference on Monday.
Asked to comment on US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland's statement, that the US has 18 different scenarios in case Russia invades Ukraine Sergey Lavrov joked that "United States has 17 special and intelligence services. Hence, apparently 17 scenarios plus the scenario of the State Department. Maybe they announce a “competition” within themselves."
"Let’s not forget what the American officials said about the very subject of the so-called Russian invasion of Ukraine. For instance, by spreading complete disinformation that we are preparing a provocation all but attacking the Russian-speaking population in Donbass in order to obtain the pretext for that very invasion," he said in response to a question by TASS, pointing out that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki noted that this had already happened in 2014.
The Russian top diplomat stressed that the current tragedy of modern Ukraine "indeed began in 2014," however, it was not the result of some provocation on the part of Russia but the result of a state coup that was "supported and even to a substantial degree organized" by the US.
"And nowadays, undoubtedly, Ukraine is being externally governed by the US," he went on. "Washington is quite capable of simply forcing the Kiev regime to finally implement the Minsk Accords. This subject was also discussed during the Putin-Biden summit last June in Geneva. There we saw and heard the US’ understanding of the essence of the Minsk Accords. Above all, [it lies] in Donbass’ special status.
And I hope that our American colleagues will occupy themselves with this," the Russian foreign minister added.
Sergey Lavrov deciphered ["chewed"] for Western partners (who apparently have difficulty reading or fully understanding the document) "NATO's open door policy," which originates from the European Security Charter. Сharter signed at the highest level in 1999 in Istanbul contain three components. Everyone shared them and signed off on them.
So, the first of them, which the West loves talking about now, is the right to freely choose how to ensure one’s own security, including treaties of alliance. After all, these documents say that each state has the right to be neutral. This should not be forgotten, either. Then follows a paragraph that is an inalienable part of this compromise, notably, the agreement binding each state to respect the rights of other countries and not to bolster its own security at the expense of the security of others.
"There is a special stipulation that no single state, group of countries or organisation can be primarily responsible for the maintenance of peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region and cannot view any part of it as a sphere of its influence,"Lavrov noted.
Pocketing the first part of this inseparable package (the right of each state to choose alliances), US and NATO then try to cross out all the rest, without which the first part is invalid.
"We are not bound by this norm (respect for the right to choose alliances) if it is applied in flagrant violation of the other parts of this inseparable package. We have explained this in sufficient detail. Now we are awaiting responses in writing, after which this issue will move to the fore if it becomes clear that it makes sense to resume the talks,"he added.
The current timeframe for security talks with the US, NATO is the period when the West went too far. Our patience has been exhausted, Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.
"It’s been an accumulation. I am referring to the period after the 1990s when our Western friends carelessly threw out all their promises not to expand NATO, not to move military infrastructure eastward, not to deploy substantial military forces on the territory of the new members. During the five waves of expansion, NATO has come right to our borders. When we formalised our relations with NATO in 1997, Poland was the only candidate for accession. Look at how the situation has changed since then,"he added.
Much has changed, according to the Minister. The real configuration of weapons, military equipment and troops in Europe has changed.
"We are faced with unacceptable demands to return our troops to their barracks on our own territory, while the Americans, Canadians and Brits have permanently deployed their troops in the guise of rotation in the Baltic states and other countries in the North of Europe. Bases are being set up in the Black Sea. The Brits are building bases in Ukraine, in the Sea of Azov area. We are categorically opposed. This approach is unacceptable,"Lavrov noted.
The timeframe that was chosen is the period when the West went too far, let’s be honest. In violations of all its commitments and contrary to common sense, it went for aggravation. The West denounces the use of violence against civilians and human rights abuses. But if bloody coups are staged by people who swear fealty to the West, it simply welcomes them with open arms. This is what happened during the coup in Ukraine when many people were killed, some by provocateurs.
"The US approved the coup (I will put it mildly) which was later perceived by the Europeans as a fait accompli. This case is well-known. Nobody is going to investigate the crimes of Maidan. Nobody is going to look into the crime committed in Odessa on May 2, 2014 when people were burned alive while those who committed this crime posed for photos. This is the support of the new government. Nothing is changing. Look at Poroshenko, Zelensky, all these Right Sector and Azov militants that were considered extremists in America only recently. Now the situation has changed,"Lavrov said.
Lavrov said that Russia does not intend to continue to put up with the existential threat, and is waiting for the promised reciprocal proposals from the West.
"Our patience has been exhausted. We are very patient. You know what they say about how long Russians take to harness their horses? We harness them slowly but then it’s time to ride. Now we are waiting for the coachman over there to give specific answers to our proposals,"Lavrov completes.
The situation in the world is complicated, the conflict potential is growing, Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following the work of Russian Foreign Ministry.
"The situation has not improved. Everyone understands that. Conflict potential is building up, and our Western colleagues have largely shaped this trend. Their policy consists of undermining the architecture of international relations based on the UN Charter, as well as replacing international law with their own “rules” and imposing them on others to build a new world order. All kinds of international formats have been emerging on matters which have long been on the agenda of universal UN agencies. This creates an overlap. These are narrow formats of like-minded countries who are cast as trail-blazers dictating “much-needed” new approaches to all others. Those refusing to join these initiatives are labelled as reactionary countries seeking to impose a revisionist agenda in international affairs. However, it is the West that currently promotes a revisionist agenda. It is the West that seeks to revise the UN Charter. Russia and other nations who are our allies and strategic partners have been standing up for the UN Charter, its principles, purposes and structure to defend them from revisionist aspirations,"he said.
Sergey Lavrov’s press conference was intended to sum up the work of the Foreign Ministry over the past year, however, most of the questions, and this is not surprising, did not concern 2021, but the events of this week, that is, 2022. On January 9-10, negotiations between Russia and the United States were held, on the 12th a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council was held, and yesterday Russia's security guarantees were discussed at the OSCE site. What's next?
"To be frank, of course, everyone understands that the prospects for reaching an agreement depend on the United States. And no matter what we are told about the need to consult with the allies, these are all excuses and attempts to drag out the process,"Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
As you know, Russia's key demands - the renunciation of NATO expansion to the east, the non-deployment of strike systems that threaten us near Russian borders, and the return of the military infrastructure of the North Atlantic Alliance to the borders of 1997 - all this the United States refused to discuss. Russia has been waiting for a response list of proposals from the US and NATO for a month now.
"We want to see their position on paper. Article by article, for each of our points in both documents, we want to get a reaction: this is suitable, this is not suitable, if it is not suitable, why. If you need to add something, formulate amendments,"he noted.
Washington supposedly promised to send written considerations to Moscow next week. The future of negotiations depends on what the Americans write, although the US interest in this raises questions.
"Wendy Sherman said that these were not negotiations, but the study of positions. This is very eloquent. We came to these talks with formulated positions, which were handed over to the American side in writing a month before the meeting. The United States, have not been able to study our proposals for a month. They only limited themselves to questions and verbal explanations,"Lavrov stressed.
NATO has been expanding eastward since the late 1990s, and Russia has already made attempts to stop this process.
"Their answer was revealing 'Dear friends, legally binding guarantees can only be given to members of the North Atlantic Alliance,'"Lavrov said.
NATO is pumping up Ukraine with weapons, building naval bases in the Black and Azov Seas, and regularly practicing nuclear strikes against Russia as part of strategic aviation training flights. Moreover, NATO invites the traditionally neutral Sweden and Finland to join the alliance.
"Such artificial enticement, expansion of this structure, which after the Cold War, after the disappearance of the Warsaw Pact, lost its meaning of existence. Attempts to artificially prolong all this continue,"he added.
Returning to the dialogue on security guarantees. If the US written response turns out to be unacceptable and disrupts the negotiation process, Russia, as is known, is considering the option of a military-technical response to NATO's actions. Lavrov answered the ABС question with Putin's words.
"The answer can be very different, it depends on the proposals that our Russian military and experts will make to him, the President of Russia. End,"he said.
Is there any hope for a positive outcome of the security talks? Is the Minister optimistic or pessimistic? The day before, Lavrov answered these questions at the end of his interview.
“The hopes the young mind nourish,” but we are mature men here. The reality is harsh, and we have to act on it, and the reality is that we have been promised a written response. We will wait for it and then determine what to do next.
As for optimism, there is a saying that goes like this: “Who’s a pessimist? A pessimist is a well-informed optimist,”Lavrov summarizes.
The way the West, including the OSCE, reacted to the latest events in Kazakhstan was terrible and shameful, Sergey Lavrov said on Channel One’s Great Game program on Thursday.
"Of course, it was a frightful experience to see pogroms, homes set on fire, police officers’ heads cut off, and the way the rioters and terrorists treated journalists. Also, I found it still more fearsome, at least from the standpoint of my professional tasks, to see the way the West reacted to all this, including the reaction of the very same OSCE, which positions itself as one of the key actors in European security affairs. First, that organization reacted to the events in Kazakhstan in a grossly inadequate way, but then eventually tried to call upon one and all for the observance of the rights of journalists, human rights, and so on. It was a real disgrace.
In such situations the root causes of what has happened must be exposed," Lavrov said.
Russia will respond to new US sanctions depending on the specific situation that will arise due to the actions of Washington and its Western allies, Sergey Lavrov told Channel One Russia.
"Of course, we will respond to [new US sanctions]. During their last phone conversation President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin told President [of the US Joe] Biden that if you take this path, you will destroy our relations," the minister said.
"What will it look like? We do not want to scare anyone, we will make our decision depending on the specific situation that will develop as a result of certain actions of the United States and their Western allies," he added.
Lavrov stressed that the US threats to impose sanctions against Russia are arrogant and absurd. "[Threats of sanctions from the US] are so arrogant and absurd, in my opinion, anyone can understand it. The US Congress has taken decisions of this kind more than once, so I do not rule anything out," he said.
The top diplomat stressed that Russia will never use sanctions pressure on the global arena, like the United States does.
"We will never act the way the United States does, for which, over the past, probably, almost 10 years, sanctions have become the main tool of foreign policy, the culture of diplomacy is practically lost, the culture of compromise too. We made our proposals [on security guarantees], because we want to return everything to using negotiation as the way of solving problems," Lavrov said.
Talks with the US on security guarantees were consistent with Moscow’s expectations, Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
"[The talks on security guarantees] went as we had expected. I think that we know rather well the American negotiators, we have met with them repeatedly on different occasions," he said.
Moscow knew beforehand what kind of a conversation it would be with the US representatives, and outlined the importance of raising the security issue toughly, of which President Vladimir Putin had spoken earlier. "It was fundamentally important for us to comply with the direct instruction from the president who said that we must very firmly raise these issues, the issues that concern the entire architecture of European security," Lavrov stressed.
The Russian proposals on security guarantees take into regard not only the interests of Moscow, but the guarantees imply ensuring the security of everyone, without infringing on anyone's interests, he stressed.
Solemn march dedicated to the completion of the operation of the CSTO peacekeepers in Kazakhstan. In the same ranks, the military of all allied countries - Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Belarus and Russia.
The mission was completed so quickly due to the fact that the allies quickly transferred forces to Kazakhstan and, thereby, turned the tide of the fight against terrorists. Now the withdrawal of the contingent, it will take 10 days.
“The difficult period in the life of Kazakhstan has passed. The country is returning to normal life, including thanks to the help and support of all our CSTO member states. [In recent days] it has been demonstrated that the CSTO is a combat-ready organization that is able to ensure the security of our common defense space,"CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas said.
As soon as the president of Kazakhstan asked his CSTO allies to help repel an attack by militants and the threat of external interference, the sky of the republic was almost continuously buzzing from heavy transport workers. More than two thousand peacekeepers and 200 pieces of equipment took up combat duty.
The commander of the peacekeepers, Colonel General Andrei Serdyukov, noted: this joint operation was the first for the CSTO, but our peoples fought as a united front more than once. Both during the Great Patriotic War and in recent history - against international terroris.
“Today, too, the servicemen who stood in a joint formation stood shoulder to shoulder in defense of the fraternal Kazakh people, not allowing criminal and terrorist groups to encroach on the constitutional system and integrity of Kazakhstan. The peacekeeping operation has been successfully completed, the task of the contingent of the CSTO collective peacekeeping forces has been completed, ”said Andrey Serdyukov, commander of the CSTO collective peacekeeping forces.
The CSTO forces have already begun to transfer protected objects to the security forces of Kazakhstan - all this time, the peacekeepers have been engaged in the defense of transport interchanges, communication centers, military warehouses, water utilities and power plants.
The CSTO Collective peacekeeping forces will completely withdraw from Kazakhstan on January 19, according to the plan, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin Thursday.
"Tomorrow, 14 Russian planes will remove all forces of our colleagues from Armenia, Tajikistan, and Belarus; our Kyrgyz colleagues will withdraw on their own, considering that they are close. Then, the withdrawal will proceed for five days, as the remaining peacekeeping forces will hand over their facilities. We plan to wrap up all operations on January 19," Shoigu said.
Shoigu noted that an airlift was organized for the relocation of troops.
"Over 80 aircraft were engaged because we had to relocate peacekeeping forces of all CSTO member states: Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and, of course, Russian contingent with vehicles," Shoigu said.
The peacekeepers from the Collective Security Treaty Organization have accomplished their mission in Kazakhstan, and it’s time for them to return home, President Putin said.
"Overall, it’s time to return home. We have accomplished our task," Putin said as he met with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
The president thanked the defense minister, the General Staff, and all those who had led the operation. "I want to express hope that this practice of using our armed forces will be studied additionally, adjustments if any will be made to the practical work," the president added.
In compliance with a decision by the CSTO Collective Security Council made on January 6, 2022, the organization’s collective peacekeeping forces were sent to Kazakhstan for a limited period to stabilize and normalize the situation in the Central Asian republic. The peacekeeping contingent comprised units of the armed forces of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
The Russian peacekeepers in Kazakhstan were assigned the task of protecting key strategic facilities in Almaty. On January 13, the CSTO began the gradual withdrawal of its collective peacekeeping forces from Kazakhstan that will last several days.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has described Wednesday’s negotiations with NATO as "a heart-to-heart talk."
"I think that [this meeting] was absolutely essential. Firstly, it was some sort of a shake-up. If the meeting had not taken place, it would have been impossible to bring up these issues in full action, as they have always been somehow in the background, but in the way they were discussed today, I do not remember such straightforwardness and incisiveness. It was a heart-to-heart talk, Alexander Grushko said at a press conference after the NATO-Russia Council meeting.
"It was an absolutely necessary conversation that helped us to understand who stands where and the challenge we have to deal with," he said.
Grushko said Russia repeatedly offered to NATO to resume military contacts "to prevent dangerous military incidents" but was rebuffed on account of a political decision made by the alliance in 2014.
Russia expects to get out of the crisis in relations with NATO through a balance of interests, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said at a press conference after a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council on Wednesday.
"I believe that we managed to bring to the notice of the alliance’s members that the situation was turning intolerable and that at some moment the risks related to the continuation of NATO’s present policy might outweigh the advantages that they seek to derive today from the traditional NATO rhetoric that the future security in Europe and the Euro-Atlantic region must be NATO-centered and that eventually European security will consist of the NATO global map, with NATO at the center, a partnership, all playing by the rules elaborated in Brussels," the senior Russian diplomat said.
"I believe that many have come to realize today that this story will sooner or later come to an end and it may look differently. We favor exiting this situation, using peaceful means, on the basis of a reasonable balance again," he added.
As the diplomat reiterated, NATO’s further expansion was associated with serious risks for European security.
"We also proceed from the fact that the rational interests of strengthening European security require a clear understanding that the alliance’s further expansion is associated with risks that will outweigh any decision on further expansion," Grushko stressed.
A meeting of the Russia-NATO Council exposed a large number of differences on key issues, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told a news conference on Wednesday.
The Russian delegation in Brussels was led by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin. On NATO’s behalf, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and permanent representatives of the alliance’s 30 member states took part in the Brussels talks.
"The conversation was rather sincere, direct, in-depth and busy, but at the same time it revealed a large number of differences on fundamental issues," the senior diplomat said. "And one of the key issues is that NATO understands selectively the principle of the indivisibility of security. In the eyes of NATO, it exists only for the members of the Alliance, and in its practical activity NATO is not going to take into regard the security interests of the others," Grushko said.
"For today, we don’t have a unifying positive agenda, none whatsoever," he stressed.
The talks at the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels marked the second stage of consultations between Russia and Western countries on Russia’s proposals on European security. The meeting is a follow-up to the negotiations between Russia and the United States held in Geneva on January 10. Also, a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council will take place in Vienna on January 13.
Apparently, three and a half hours to discuss security guarantees between the Representatives of Russia and NATO countries in Brussels on Wednesday was not enough.
Moscow's demands are known - guarantees of NATO's non-expansion, a rollback of the alliance to the 1997 borders. This means that NATO must remove its military infrastructure, including from Poland and the Baltic states. The United States, in turn, must remove its nuclear weapons from Europe. It is also fundamentally important for Russia to obtain guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will never join NATO.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Alexander Grushko, made a statement before the meeting: “It can be said without exaggeration that a moment of truth is coming in our relations with the alliance.
We will seek a specific, article-by-article reaction to the Russian draft agreement on guarantees."
The meeting was held in the main hall of the North Atlantic Council. It was attended by representatives of all 30 NATO member countries. And this is what NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said following the meeting: “NATO Allies stressed that they will do their utmost to find political avenues to move forward. I also welcome the bilateral consultations between the US and the Russian Federation, as well as the OSCE meeting tomorrow."
This could probably reduce the risk of military conflict. Stoltenberg argues that the alliance is interested in military and civilian channels of communication with Russia.
Meanwhile, US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland Victoria Nuland has poured gasoline into the fire. The US is ready to discuss NATO membership with Sweden and Finland if they so choose. At the same time, she immediately accused Moscow of creating the crisis and said that in the place of the Russians, she would attend to education and medicine, and not send troops somewhere in the snow.
The answer was not long in coming. Maria Zakharova, in her Telegram channel, recalled both the quality of American education, which can be judged by errors in the statements of the White House, and about the healthcare system. In the United States, COVID-19 has actually killed almost twice as many people as in India, with its more than a billion people.
“You can find the necessary amount of money to solve the above American problems if, for example, reduce the American bases in Europe, which surround Russia in a tight ring both in“ cold winter ”and“ hot summer,””or stop allocating billions for color revolutions according to to the whole world and the content of impostors like Guaido or Tikhanovskaya ”wrote Maria Zakharova.
The command staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) peacekeeping forces and Kazakhstan’s Defense Ministry are working on a plan to hand the sites that are being protected by peacekeepers over to the country’s law enforcement agencies, Commander of the CSTO’s collective peacekeeping forces Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov told reporters.
"The CSTO collective peacekeeping forces’ command staff and the Kazakh Defense Ministry are working on a plan to hand the sites that are being protected by peacekeepers over to the country’s law enforcement agencies," he said.
Serdyukov emphasized that after completing their mission, the peacekeeping forces, together with the Kazakh authorities, would arrange the return of peacekeepers to their permanent bases on flights operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Protests erupted in various Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots that involved attacks on police officers, service members and government buildings in many cities of the country, primarily in Almaty. Thousands of people were injured, and the number of casualties is unknown. The CSTO sent peacekeepers to the Central Asian country at President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s request. Law and order, the Kazakh authorities affirm, was generally restored to all of the country’s regions.
Vladimir Putin held a meeting, via videoconference, with permanent members of the Security Council on Tuesday.
"Today we will discuss matters pertaining to work in the border regions of Russia. The agenda is extremely busy and includes security and infrastructure issues,"he said.
Apparently, the President means the border of Russia with Kazakhstan, where "suddenly" there was an attempted coup, is 7,600 km, and besides, it is not guarded at all ...
Then everything takes place behind closed doors. However, I dare to imagine how, in a secluded place, protected from cameras, the President of Russia discusses everyday economic issues, without worrying at all about the problems of his country's executional security, which have become so obvious in connection with the past fruitless negotiations in Geneva?
Moscow calls on Washington to show the utmost responsibility, since the risks of a possible confrontation should not be underestimated, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated on Monday after the Russian-US talks.
Russia and the United States have been failing to reach any progress on issues of stopping NATO’s further eastwards expansion, Ryabkov said.
"As for NATO’s non-expansion, I would say that there is categorically no progress on this matter," he said.
"It is one of the key problems we are facing," Ryabkov said. "I would say that the rest largely depends on how the situation on this matter develops."
Russia will consider any further steps on security guarantees after talks with NATO and the OSCE due on January 12 and 13, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.
"I would take the risk of saying that after one and a half days of discussions we arrived at a joint conclusion that we will consider any further steps and the prospects of this work and will take corresponding decisions after the events that are due in the coming days, namely the events in Brussels on January 12, where we will meet in the collective format with NATO, and a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on the following day, January 13.
"It will become clearer after that if there are any grounds to recommend the leadership take this or that decision in favor of continuing this process. If yes, which format to choose. Or we have something else and can state with regret in this case that the NATO group has opted for turning down our initiative. In this case, the situation will be viewed differently.
Alexander Lukashenko said that if lessons are not learned from the events in Kazakhstan, this could happen again, primarily in Uzbekistan.
"The lessons that have been talked a lot about here should be learned [by everyone], first of all, Uzbekistan. If these lessons are not learned, according to our information, their sights have already been set on Uzbekistan," Lukashenko said on Monday at an extraordinary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council.
According to him, there are "too many people who want to undermine the situation" both in Kazakhstan and in other post-Soviet republics of Central Asia. "Afghanistan has been added to this list quite recently," Lukashenko noted.
He pointed out that, as the events have shown, many international terrorists have gathered on the borders of Kazakhstan. Lukashenko believes it necessary for the countries of the region to jointly solve the emerging problems. According to him, it is impossible "to overcome negative tendencies" "just within Kazakhstan." "I am absolutely convinced of this, the closest peoples - Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan - should team up and try to solve the difficult problems that have been inherited and created by us in the post-Soviet period," Lukashenko said.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev asserted that the constitutional order has been restored in the republic following mass disturbances.
"Currently, the constitutional order in Kazakhstan has been restored. Threats to the country’s security have been prevented. Work is underway within the framework of the counter-terrorist operation on detecting the individuals who participated in crimes. As of today, about 8,000 individuals have been delivered to the police structures," he said during an urgent session of the CSTO Collective Security Council held in a video format.
He emphasized that the armed forces have never been used against peaceful demonstrators in Kazakhstan.
"In the near future, after the preliminary investigation is completed, we will present the additional proof of the preparation and organization of the terrorist aggression against our country to the judgement of the global community," the Kazakh president explained.
According to the Kazakh leader, the operation on capturing terrorists continues. "The plans are being adjusted on detecting the fleeing militants who are using a new strategy of camouflaging, changing into civilian clothes, shaving their beards and so on. Enormous intensive work is ahead, even the veterans of the law enforcement and military are being engaged," he stressed.
Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots with government buildings getting ransacked in several cities a few days later. The ensuing violence left scores of people injured, with fatalities also being reported. Subsequently, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) requesting assistance from the Russia-led bloc. As a result, peacekeepers have already been deployed to Kazakhstan.
Law and order, Kazakh authorities affirm, was restored to all of the country’s regions by the morning of January 7. The most complex situation remains in Almaty. The Kazakh president declared January 10 the day of national mourning in the republic.
Foreign militants mostly from Central Asian countries, including Afghanistan and also from the Middle East participated in the recent mass riots in Kazakhstan, Tokayev said.
"I have no doubts that this was a terror attack," the Kazakh presidential press office quoted Tokayev as saying in a statement posted on its website.
"This was a well-organized and prepared act of aggression against Kazakhstan with the participation of foreign gunmen mostly from Central Asian countries, including Afghanistan. There were also militants from the Middle East," the Kazakh leader said.
"Their intent was to create a zone of controlled chaos on our territory with the subsequent seizure of power. That is why, a counter-terror operation was launched in Kazakhstan," the press office quoted the Kazakh leader as saying.
Economic damage from the riots in Kazakhstan may amount to $2-3 billion, the Kazakh leader said.
"The president called the tragic events an unprecedented act of aggression and an encroachment on our statehood. He added that the terrorists’ violent actions entailed numerous victims among the law-enforcement personnel and civilians while about 1,300 businesses were affected and more than 100 shopping malls were attacked, and about 500 police cars were burnt," the statement says.
"In the estimate of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, preliminary economic damage to the state may amount to $2-3 billion," the press release reads.
The Kazakh president also gave clear explanations about the deployment of the peacekeeping contingent of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Kazakhstan.
"I want to stress that they are not taking part in combat operations. Their main task is to protect strategic facilities in Almaty and in the capital of Kazakhstan. This has enabled the Kazakh security and law-enforcement agencies to carry out measures to counter terrorists. The CSTO peacekeeping forces have been deployed in accordance with Articles 2 and 4 of the CSTO Collective Security Treaty. They will stay in Kazakhstan until the situation fully stabilizes," Tokayev said.
The Kazakh president also spoke about the cruel and violent actions of terrorists and bandits who attempted to undermine the Constitutional order in the republic and carry out a coup d’état. For his part, the European Council president stated his support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kazakhstan. The talk between Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Charles Michel was held at the initiative of the European side in a friendly and trustworthy atmosphere, the Kazakh presidential press office informed.
Without exaggeration, the attention of the whole world is riveted to the talks in Geneva. There is no time frame. The mood, judging by the way the preliminary meeting went last evening, is constructive. After that, the discussion will continue in Brussels at a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council and at the OSCE platform.
The negotiations have now been going on for over an hour. They are held in a closed format. Before the start, the cameramen had the opportunity to get into the meeting room for a few minutes. Everything is very restrained. Lack of handshakes, which can be associated with anti-covid measures. Delegations of both sides are interagency. They include both diplomats and the military. The Russian delegation is headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. First US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman at the head of the American delegation. They are both very experienced diplomats.
Russia is entering the negotiations with a firm position. Moscow needs written security guarantees. This is the key point. If there is no readiness for dialogue, RIA Novosti quotes Ryabkov, the US and NATO may face a deterioration in their own security.
“The American side must prepare for compromises. The Russian side came here with a clear position, which contains a number of elements, in my opinion, quite understandable and formulated so clearly, including at the highest level, that there simply cannot be deviations from these our approaches, ” Sergei Ryabikov said.
Three blocks of issues are important for Moscow: guarantees that NATO will not expand to the East; second, the exclusion of the appearance of attack missile systems at our borders with a minimum flight time; and third, the need for NATO to return to its 1997 origins. This includes, among other things, the elimination of the military infrastructure of the alliance. At the same time, the difficulties of ratifying agreements within NATO, according to Ryabkov, do not concern Moscow. The initiative to provide written guarantees to our country belongs to Vladimir Putin. In particular, he outlined the Red Lines regarding Ukraine's accession to NATO during his conversation with Joe Biden on December 7.
The previous evening, the first meeting of delegations in the format of a working dinner took place here in Geneva. After that Ryabkov commented on the course of the conversation: "Awesome, wonderful.
We plunged into the matter of the upcoming affairs. But the conversation is difficult. It cannot be easy."
From the American side, only a short statement by the US State Department came out that the United States supported the right of countries to independently choose which alliances to join. Judging by the official statements, Washington is not yet ready to discuss the issues of guarantees of NATO's non-expansion. Nevertheless, Ryabkov called the conversation the day before business, he believes that today the parties will not waste time in vain. The schedule is really tight. The negotiations can last until the evening. Upon their completion, the head of our delegation will answer journalists' questions. And so, extremely curious in this regard, is the reaction of the American side. The US State Department had warned in advance that Russian statements after the Geneva talks would not reflect reality.
Putin's Remarks At Emergency CSTO Summit On Kazakhstan
Vladimir Putin believes that the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has proven its potential and ability to act swiftly and efficiently in the Kazakhstan case.
"Our organization has proven it potential, its ability to act swiftly, decisively and efficiently," the Russian leader said at the CSTO Collective Security Council meeting Monday.
According to Putin, "every ally contributed to completion of missions within the CSTO forces group."
"It includes forces from every member state without exception, who are already actively carrying out the operational activities," the Russian leader said.
According to Putin,"this indicates that the long-lasting, meticulous work on establishment of a comprehensive system of CSTO member states’ security, including the collective peacekeeping forces, bears its fruit."
Observing today's tragic events in the brotherly Kazakhstan, one involuntarily recalls the prophetic remark of Vladimir Putin to the statement of the Kazakh leader in the fall of 2019.
Observing today's tragic events in the brotherly Kazakhstan, one involuntarily recalls the prophetic remark of Vladimir Putin to the statement of the Kazakh leader in the fall of 2019.
Then, Tokayev was convinced that Western investments in Kazakhstan (mainly oil and gas production) would guarantee Kazakhstan security and prosperity and save his country from outside interference.
"Sometimes it is better not to have nuclear weapons, but on the other hand, to attract more investment in its economy, to maintain and develop good relations with all states of the world, which Kazakhstan does in practice,"Tokayev said.
"Saddam Hussein also thought so,"Putin replied.
It doesn't seem funny now.
The situation in Kazakhstan calmed down with the introduction of the CSTO peacekeepers, who took control of all the strategic facilities of the republic.
The Kazakh leader, following the Belarusian leader, received a lesson of "multi-vector approach." However, it is a pity that ordinary people suffered.
Joint briefing by the Commander of the collective peacekeeping forces of the CSTO in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov and Deputy Minister of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Lieutenant-General Sultan Gamaletdinov.
"In accordance with the decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council, the collective peacekeeping forces have completed deployment on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Currently, the units of the peacekeeping forces are carrying out tasks to protect important military, state and socially significant facilities in the city of Alma-Ata and adjacent areas.
I express my gratitude to the Kazakh side for the prompt solution of the issues of deployment and provision of military contingents with everything necessary.
Russian citizens who are on vacation in Alma-Ata or with relatives who have expressed a desire to travel to the territory of the Russian Federation have been sent by military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
The fulfillment of tasks by the units of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces will continue until the situation in the country is fully stabilized,"Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov, Commander of the collective peacekeeping forces of the CSTO in the Republic of Kazakhstan said.
"The situation on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan is stabilizing and is under the control of the authorities.
I want to thank the command and personnel of the collective peacekeeping forces of the CSTO for the fraternal assistance provided to the Kazakh people.
Taking the most important facilities under the protection of peacekeepers allowed us to release a significant part of the forces and means of law enforcement agencies and the army, which are deployed to fight terrorists.
Currently, a counter-terrorism operation is continuing on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It will last until the complete destruction of terrorists and the restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Kazakhstan,"Deputy Minister of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan Lieutenant General Sultan Gamaletdinov said.
