Diplomacy, in NATO’s understanding, is a blabbering of the problem. This opinion was expressed in an interview with Izvestia on January 10 by Dmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, commenting on the statements of the Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Earlier, Stoltenberg promised that NATO would “earnestly work to find a diplomatic path forward,” but warned that the alliance should be prepared for the fact that Russia may “prefer the path of confrontation to cooperation.” Nevertheless, he called the readiness of the Russian Federation for a dialogue on security a positive signal.
Belik stressed that Moscow expects concrete decisions from the upcoming meeting of the Russia-NATO Council.
“Either yes or no — these are two specific answers that we expect. Of course, we would like to receive a positive decision of the alliance on our issue, otherwise both we and they will have to prepare for tougher confrontation measures, ”said the deputy.
He noted that Russia “should immediately make it clear to NATO diplomats” that the conversation should be on an equal footing.
“They have already crossed the red line in this direction, and what they call negotiations and diplomacy is simply a fog over the opponent’s eyes, so NATO diplomats should be made clear right away that Russia is talking to them on equal terms, and is not going to listen to them. notations or conclusions on how we should act, ”Belik said.
The deputy summed up that “Russia always stands for a constructive dialogue” and in the first place for her is the safety of citizens.
The fact that the Russia-NATO Council will take place on January 12 was announced in the North Atlantic Alliance on January 4. It was pointed out that the dialogue with Moscow should be carried out on the basis of reciprocity, and also answer NATO questions about actions by Russia.
On the same day, Stoltenberg said that the meeting would discuss issues of military security in Europe, as well as the situation around Ukraine.
On December 28, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev told Izvestia that the effectiveness of the Russia-NATO Council meeting depends on whether all members of the alliance and Moscow will talk on equal terms.
On December 21, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe announced that they are ready to become a platform for negotiations between the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance and Russia on security guarantees. It was emphasized that the organization provides a platform for dialogue and cooperation of a scale not found anywhere else in the world.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements between Russia and the United States and NATO on security guarantees. As follows from the documents, in particular, the alliance is proposed to abandon the conduct of any military activity on the territory of Ukraine and other states of Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. According to a White House source, the US presidential administration found some of the proposals useful and others unacceptable.