MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Russia sees NATO trying to move back into the center of Euro-Atlantic processes and notes that all of the alliance’s member states are rearming, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters.
He also noted that it is not worth commenting on the negotiations on Ukraine, as this would be detrimental to the cause. According to the senior diplomat, Russia takes them very seriously.
TASS has compiled Grushko’s key statements.
Negotiations on Ukrainian settlement
It is not worth commenting on the negotiations on Ukraine: "We are focused on the negotiation process. And there is nothing to comment on here."
The negotiation process, "on the one hand, is being conducted in a fairly open manner": "On the other hand, it is absolutely clear to everyone - and I hope to journalists as well - that no comments on the substance of the discussion will be made because doing so would harm the cause."
Russia takes the negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement "very seriously": "The political and informational dances that the Europeans are performing around these negotiations are insignificant in this case."
The objectives of the special military operation will be achieved "either by military means or, preferably, by political and diplomatic means."
Security guarantees
Implementing Russia's proposals on security guarantees would strengthen them.
Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees "remain relevant."
Together with like-minded countries, Russia is focused on promoting the concept of Eurasian security.
Europe's policy on Ukrainian settlement
Europe wants the fighting in Ukraine to continue "as long as possible."
Europe's actions prevent any real, constructive contribution to the conflict's settlement: "To date, there has been no real constructive contribution from the Europeans because their position precludes it."
Europe's actual policy aims to prolong the conflict and make it as difficult as possible to reach a peace agreement: "We are monitoring the statements that Europeans are making regarding the negotiations. Everything indicates that their real policy is to prolong the conflict as much as possible to prevent or complicate achieving a peace agreement."
Interaction with NATO
There is no interaction between Russia and NATO: "It is ruled out by definition because NATO documents now define Russia as a direct and immediate - and now they have added long-term - threat to NATO's security interests. This applies even to the planning of a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, which will be achieved by either military or diplomatic mean."
However, channels of communication between Russia and NATO continue to exist: "As far as communications are concerned, they remain open. Our ambassador to Belgium is authorized to maintain contact with the alliance's headquarters if necessary. There are also appropriate hotlines between the military that no one has closed."
There is no subject for discussion within the Russia-NATO Council.
Russia sees NATO trying to take center stage in Euro-Atlantic processes: "There is a rearmament process among all the alliance’s member states, including France, where military spending has increased significantly for the second consecutive year."
Today, within NATO, "there is a certain redistribution of roles": "This is linked to the new views of the US administration on global European security processes, where the US is giving greater responsibility for security on the continent to its European allies, forcing them to pay for their own security and allocate more and more money to military needs."
Russia-NATO contacts may occur: "If necessary, they can be carried out."
Contacts between Russia and NATO at the military level were carried out: "Such contacts were carried out as necessary. At the military level, they were carried out at a fairly high level."
Despite French President Emmanuel Macron's comments about NATO's brain death and the alliance's obsolescence, France is strengthening the bloc and declaring its readiness to play a leading role in ensuring collective security: "Therefore, if we talk about France's practical stance in Europe, it aims more at strengthening the alliance's role than diminishing it."
Return of Nazism and Kiev regime’s atrocities
Russia notes that many leaders in a number of European countries are returning to Nazi practices in constructing national identity: "We see this in countries that have recently emerged as independent states on the geographical and political map of Europe. Many of these leaders are embracing Nazi practices to construct a national identity. All of this has 'blossomed' in Ukraine."
Ukrainian neo-Nazism hinders the establishment of peace and stability on the European continent and poses a threat to the international community as a whole: "Today, Ukrainian neo-Nazism threatens not only the local population but also the international community, directly hindering the establishment of peace and stability in Europe and the creation of an architecture of equal and indivisible security."
Vladimir Zelensky's regime has long surpassed the "idols of the Third Reich" in terms of cruelty: "It is telling that today's Bandera followers are exterminating the civilian population in the same territories that were occupied by the Nazis, and they are doing so with the same symbols that are now used on the emblem of the Ukrainian armed forces."
OSCE
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been "turned into an instrument of proxy and hybrid warfare" that the West is waging against Russia.
The West's aggressive line towards Russia is finishing off the OSCE: "The organization cannot exist outside the political context. Western states are taking an aggressive stance against us and using the OSCE to do so, which is only furthering the demise of an organization already in a state of deep crisis."