If It Depends on Russia, There Will Be No War, Lavrov Says

Russia does not want a war but will not allow its security interests to be violated. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during an online interview with Russian radio stations, discussing the ongoing negotiations with the West about security issues.

"If it depends on the Russian Federation, there will be no war. We do not want war, but we will not allow our interests to be grossly violated and disregarded," Lavrov declared.

According to Lavrov, negotiations with the West have not yet concluded. He noted that the Americans and NATO had spent more than a month studying Russia's extremely clear proposals summarized in the draft Russia-U.S. treaty and the Russia-NATO agreements. Two days ago, on January 26, Moscow received a response that does not clarify key issues, but it contains "rational kernels" concerning secondary matters.

Specifically, NATO has proposed to discuss issues related to the deployment of intermediate and short-range missiles, conducting military exercises away from each other's borders, and coordinating the distance between combat aircraft and warships, among other topics. In Lavrov's view, this is better than nothing.

"The constructiveness inherent in these proposals is essentially borrowed from Russian initiatives of recent years. I think it's at least something. But I reiterate that for us it is crucial to clarify the conceptual principles on which European security is built," Lavrov noted, recalling the commitments made by Russia and Western countries regarding the principles of "indivisibility of security" in the 1999 OSCE summit declaration in Istanbul.

The chief Russian diplomat emphasized that if the West does not respond positively to Moscow's proposals, and if there are no results from Moscow's initiatives aimed at reaching mutually acceptable principles for ensuring security in Europe, then Moscow will take retaliatory measures.

Lavrov conveyed that Russian agencies are currently examining the responses provided by the United States and NATO. Referring to the content of these responses, the Russian Foreign Minister stated that the U.S. response, in light of the documents sent by NATO, is a "true example of diplomatic decorum."

"The NATO response is so ideological, so saturated with the notions of the North Atlantic Alliance's exclusivity, its special role and mission, that I felt embarrassed for the people who wrote that text," Sergey Lavrov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had mentioned that retaliatory measures could vary but he would make decisions based on the proposals submitted by Russian military leaders. Sergey Lavrov added that as a result of interagency discussions, President Putin would receive proposals regarding Moscow's response and would make his decision based on them.