MOSCOW, December 1. /TASS/. Russia’s Foreign Ministry is drafting an initiative on an instruction from Russian President Vladimir Putin on long-term security guarantees at the country’s western borders, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in the upper house of parliament on Wednesday.
"In compliance with the president’s instruction to seek long-term and reliable security guarantees for Russia at its western frontiers, we are drafting the corresponding initiative," the foreign minister said
As Russia’s top diplomat stressed, Russia will continue reacting "toughly" to any unfriendly steps, "without allowing any damage to its national interests."
Sergey Lavrov added that Russia’s Foreign Ministry will continue seeking long-term and legally binding guarantees of security at the country’s western borders as instructed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"These differences and the ways of coping with these problems more effectively are always discussed in a comrade-like, sincere and mutually respectful tone. This is how we deem it necessary to develop relations between all states without any exception and this is what we will seek to achieve, in particular, while fulfilling an instruction by the president who reiterated at the Russia Calling! forum yesterday that it was necessary to seek long-term and legally binding guarantees of Russia’s security in the wake of developments at its western borders," Lavrov pointed out.
"Only such a mutually respectful talk can ease the tension that the West is deliberately whipping up at present," Russia’s top diplomat stressed.
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.