Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today that Moscow is ready to give a non-aggression guarantee to NATO and EU countries, reiterating that Russia has no intention of attacking any of their current members, DPA reported.
"We have repeatedly stated that we do not and have never intended to attack any of the current members of NATO or the EU," Lavrov said at a Eurasian security forum in Minsk, Belarus.
"We are ready to stake this position on future security guarantees for this part of Eurasia," he said, according to a transcript provided by his ministry.
Lavrov made the offer in a speech in which he largely repeated Moscow's criticism of Western powers.
He said that meaningful dialogue with EU leaders is impossible because they refuse what he calls "genuine collective security guarantees" - that is, guarantees not only against Russia but with Russia, in the event of an end to the war in Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine that Russia started has shaken the security architecture in Europe, and efforts to end the conflict have raised questions about how Ukraine can be protected from potential future Russian attacks.
NATO and EU planners envisage a long-term military buildup to deter Moscow as Russia continues to build up forces in a way that many experts say goes beyond the needs of the war in Ukraine.