MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Russia has been persistently encouraging the West towards a dialogue on security, so it is unclear why some European states are now echoing the same appeal to Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the air of the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Wednesday.
"Perhaps, in this world of funhouse mirrors and corresponding representations of reality, which have nothing to do with reality, such statements as ‘European countries call on Russia for a substantive dialogue on security issues’ appear. In fact, our country has already brought up this matter. Now we are being encouraged to do what we’re trying to do with Western partners at this stage for months now," she said.
"But weren't Russian President Vladimir Putin's speeches at the UN General Assembly, when he personally came to New York to participate in the anniversary sessions, his speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2007, numerous statements by our Foreign Minister, the Defense Ministry, scientific and practical conferences held by our Defense Ministry, for example, on the problems of missile defense, weren't all these an invitation to a practical discussion on security?" Zakharova asked.
The diplomatic spokeswoman said that for many years Russia had been trying to build a constructive security dialogue with the West. "I mentioned 2007 as the brightest starting point and now it is 2022 and we have hinted at it and have been saying it directly for many years. Now, we have really got down to business, sending in writing a specific list of questions on which we want to get very specific written answers," the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman emphasized.
On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released draft agreements on the security guarantees that Moscow expects to receive from Washington and NATO. The two accords - one with the US and the other with the Western-led bloc - particularly oblige NATO to cease its eastward expansion, namely to drop plans on granting Ukraine membership, and envisage restrictions on the deployment of serious offensive weapons, including nuclear ones. The sides have already held several rounds of consultations in various formats but have not announced any agreements reached yet.
On January 26, 2022, the US and NATO handed over written responses to Russia on Moscow’s security guarantees that it was demanding from Washington and Brussels. The American side requested that the documents not be made public, although US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg enumerated their basic provisions. According to these statements, the West did not make concessions to Russia considered to be critical but did indicate directions for further negotiations.