MOSCOW, November 8. /TASS/. Efforts to isolate Moscow have repeatedly resulted in severe consequences for Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Russian-German forum dubbed ‘The Potsdam Meeting’.
According to the minister, in the modern interconnected world it is impossible to create separate security islands. "Common problems need to be tackled together," Lavrov said. "That means, if the European states don’t unite, efforts to ensure Europe’s rightful place in the new world order are bound to fail."
"History has repeatedly proven that the attempts to isolate Russia always lead to severe consequences for the entire continent," the Russian top diplomat said.
"At the same time, Russia’s active participation in the European affairs has always entailed long periods of stability."
West brushes off Russia’s willingness to boost ties
Russia’s willingness to establish cooperation with Europe has not been supported by some Western countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Russian-German forum dubbed ‘The Potsdam Meeting’.
"Our large-scale infrastructure projects, including those in the energy sphere, particularly the Nord Stream project, were aimed at ensuring the sustained development of European states," the minister said. "
The proposal to set up a Russian-EU energy alliance in the future had the same goal.
"We were consistently encouraging our counterparts to remove the long-outdated visa barrier preventing the enhancement of the trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian ties," the Russian top diplomat said.
"Unfortunately, our genuine wish to establish partnership was not supported by Western states.
NATO and Eueropean security
Consequences stemming from policies aimed at retaining dividing lines in Europe still linger, Lavrov emphasized:
"In 2008, Russia came up with an initiative to seal a treaty on European security which would have enshrined political obligations about equal and indivisible security proclaimed by the OSCE and the Russia-NATO Council in the late 1990s and in early 2000s."
"Unfortunately, this draft treaty was rejected. NATO members decided that only the alliance member states were eligible to receive legal security assurances. This was a deliberate course aimed at retaining dividing lines in Europe. The consequences of this logic still remain," the Russian top diplomat noted.
Russian and German ties as a factor of European stability
The development of relations between Russia and Germany is an important factor in maintaining European security and stability, Sergey Lavrov said:
"We are convinced that the progressive development of our bilateral relations meets our two people’s vital interests and is an important factor in maintaining European security and stability."
"We are interested in preserving and multiplying the positive cooperation potential accumulated over the years and are committed to maintaining and deepening equitable dialogue based on mutual respect."
"We are ready to discuss various initiatives, proposals and address the existing issues in a constructive way," he said. "We know that there is a growing awareness in Germany that there is no alternative to the normalization of relations with Russia."
According to Lavrov, Moscow welcomes this approach in every possible way.