MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. NATO’s actions in Ukraine evidence the likelihood of a repeat scenario of the military alliance’s eastward expansion plans while claiming the opposite, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
"Yesterday, President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin recalled our quite recent past when Russia was deceived, to put it plainly, when Russia was promised that NATO would not expand eastward but was then deceived as NATO expanded further to the east," the Russian presidential spokesman said.
"Now we see quite a similar scenario. We see the military infrastructure [of the alliance] drifting to the east, a rapid process of NATO states arming Ukraine and provocative NATO actions," Peskov pointed out.
Moscow deems NATO’s plans for its further expansion to the east as unacceptable, he said.
"A repeat scenario of the past is utterly unacceptable for us," the Russian presidential spokesman pointed out.
Speaking about the possible demand that NATO must not admit Ukraine, the Kremlin spokesman remarked that "Ukraine is a sovereign state and Russia does not meddle in other states’ affairs as compared to other countries."
NATO’s actions compel Russia to take symmetric measures to defend and ensure its interests and security, which creates tension for the entire security architecture in Europe, Peskov said.
Russia had to respond to NATO’s plans symmetrically in the past, he recalled. In particular, it developed advanced innovative armaments that are cheaper but more effective than ballistic missile defenses, he stressed.
"At that time, this issue [security guarantees] was also the subject of talks but no one wanted to give us any security guarantees. Everyone spoke about the Iran threat at the time. As a result, everyone forgot about that and the goals became evident," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a Foreign Ministry enlarged board meeting on November 18, said that the Western countries’ tense state after Russia’s serious warnings must persist as long as possible to avoid conflicts. He added that it was vital to seek long-term guarantees for Russia’s security in this domain.