Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with his British counterpart Ben Wallace about the aggravation of the military-political situation in Europe due to the escalation of tension around Ukraine. It is reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the statement of the Russian Defense Ministry.

“Shoigu noted that the military-political situation in Europe has escalated significantly due to the escalation of tension around Ukraine, the military presence of NATO near the Russian borders, which requires urgent measures to be taken to ensure security guarantees for the Russian Federation,” the message says.

The Ministry of Defense noted that Shoigu briefly commented on the responses of the United States and NATO to Moscow's proposals for security guarantees on the European continent. He lamented that Washington and Brussels did not respond to Moscow's key demands: "renunciation of NATO expansion, non-deployment of strike weapons near Russian borders, as well as the return of the bloc's military capabilities and infrastructure in Europe to the positions of 1997, when the Russia-NATO Founding Act was signed ". Without solving these problems, it will not be possible to reduce tension in relations between Russia and the West, the department emphasized.

The statement said that the parties agreed on the need to continue contacts "on issues of preventing incidents and reducing the risks of unintentional conflicts in the course of military activities." Shoigu, in turn, announced his readiness to "consider proposals for restoring bilateral military cooperation."

During the meeting, Shoigu, among other things, called on Western countries to stop "stuffing" Ukraine with weapons.

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