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Russia - Ryabkov: The key to Russia's national security is the issue of non-expansion of NATO

Russia (bbabo.net), - Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov, speaking at a briefing after talks with the United States in Geneva, said that there was no confidence that even the obligations assumed by the West would be fulfilled. But, according to him, "the signal was like this - it's better than nothing."

"We ended a day and a half of discussions with a statement, I would even venture to say with a joint statement, that we will judge about further steps and the prospects of all this work and make appropriate decisions based on the results of events that are still to come in the coming days - namely, an event in Brussels On January 12, where we will meet with NATO members in a collective format, and a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council the next day, January 13, "the diplomat said.

Ryabkov stressed that "the key issue is the non-expansion of NATO," Moscow's further behavior will depend on it. The Russian side insists, he recalled, that NATO should not accept new members and abandon the intention to admit Ukraine and Georgia into the alliance, voiced at the 2008 Bucharest summit, as well as that the Alliance should not deploy weapons capable of hitting targets on Russian territory, and refused from the material and technical development of the territories of the countries that have joined the alliance after the signing of the Russia-NATO Founding Act in 1997, which is threatening to Russia.

However, the diplomat emphasized, "the American side is still strongly opposed to the non-expansion of NATO, and the refusal to deploy strike weapons, and a return to the 1997 situation."

Russia - Ryabkov: The key to Russia's national security is the issue of non-expansion of NATO