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Germany ready for dialogue with Russia on common security in Europe — top diplomat

Annalena Baerbock took positive note of the talks held last week as part of the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE

MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. Germany has expressed its readiness to discuss strengthening common security with Russia, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated at a press conference in Moscow following talks with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"Russia demanded security guarantees, which was once again emphasized [during the talks]. We are ready for a serious dialogue on mutual agreements and steps to reinforce our common European security," the German top diplomat noted.

Baerbock took positive note of the talks held last week as part of the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). "The talks as part of the OSCE and the NATO-Russia Council became the first useful step towards a dialogue [on security], and it is not surprising that at the first meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, which took place after so many years, not all problems were tackled," the foreign minister went on to say.

Baerbock also stated that the positions of the two countries differed in many ways, but Berlin was interested in stable relations with Moscow. "We are in talks on numerous issues on which we have huge, partly fundamentally different views. <…> However, we see the potential for facilitating cooperation between Germany and Russia. We have a strong interest in stable relations with Russia," the top diplomat stated.

On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released the proposals on security guarantees on the part of the US and NATO. The consultations were on January 10 in Geneva, while a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council was held on January 12 in Brussels and the OSCE Permanent Council met in Vienna on January 13.

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