BERLIN, December 20. /TASS/. Russia is ready for an equal dialogue with the European Union and the United States but it would be naive to expect unilateral concessions in the security sphere from Moscow, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev said in an interview with the Schweriner Volkszeitung newspaper. The text was released by the press service of the Russian embassy on Monday.
"As is well known, Russia is ready for dialogue," he said, adding that Western partners should "stop fanning tensions around Ukraine." He recalled that Russia has red lines in terms of NATO approaching its borders.
"Security cannot be unilateral and it cannot be ensured at others’ expense," he stressed. "We have long been calling on the West to begin a dialogue and resolve the existing problems in the sphere of security. Another thing is that it would be an illusion to expect unilateral concessions from Moscow. Russia is ready to maintain fair, mutually respectful relations with the EU countries and the United States on the principles of equality."
On December 17, the Russian foreign ministry released two Russian draft agreements in security guarantees from the United States and NATO.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on NATO to begin substantive talks on reliable long-term security guarantees to Russia. He stressed that Russia needs legally binding guarantees because the West has failed to fulfill its verbal commitments.
According to Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan that Moscow was ready to begin talks on draft documents on security guarantees. Russia will be represented at these talks by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.