On the night of January 12-13, the Zvezda TV channel aired the Meantime program dedicated to the results of the Russia-NATO Council summit. The guest of the studio was Dmitry Novikov, Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs. During the conversation, the host Natalia Metlina asked a number of questions regarding the prospects for the negotiation process between Russia and the West on security issues.
At the beginning of the conversation, Dmitry Novikov said that the format of multilateral negotiations with Russia for the United States is more convenient than one-on-one negotiations. Such a scheme allows Washington to dilute responsibility for the outcome of the negotiation process among all NATO members and demonstrate the work of “a collective decision-making mechanism by all members of the alliance.”
According to D.G. Novikov, one of the outcomes of the summit will be NATO’s refusal to provide Russia with legally binding security guarantees. In December last year, the Russian Foreign Ministry came up with an initiative for such guarantees, turning to the Western powers. Moscow is currently waiting for concrete results. Russia needs peace talks and conditions that will reduce the danger of a military confrontation.
Dmitry Novikov called absurd and hypocritical the statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that the North Atlantic Alliance does not consider the expansion of the bloc an aggressive act, since such an expansion allegedly “spreads democracy.” Such statements, Novikov noted, are made for the needs of the Western audience in order to convince the population of their countries of the “absolute peacefulness” of the military bloc and justify the fact of its existence.
The summit of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels provoked a hysterical reaction from Ukraine. The Kiev authorities were offended by their Western sponsors for not inviting them to take part in negotiations with Russia. Novikov sneered at such a position of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. He drew attention to the fact that the United States and NATO did not consider it necessary, even for the sake of appearances, to consult with Kiev. Washington consults with NATO allies, but not with the Ukrainian authorities. This fact highlighted the extreme degree of dependence of the Kiev regime on external forces and illustrated the real place of modern Ukraine in world politics.
Speaking about the possibilities of opponents to strike Russia from Central Asia, Dmitry Novikov noted that the West is constantly trying to influence the situation in this region in its own interests. The latest events in Kazakhstan had a key social background, but at the same time, Western officials actively commented on the development of the situation, and even threatened Astana with blocking foreign financial assets. The West expected to get its own in the course of several changes of power in Kyrgyzstan. Taking into account all the attempts of external interference, the entry of the CSTO peacekeeping contingent into Kazakhstan was an absolutely justified measure.
On the eve of the talks in Brussels, Finnish Defense Minister Anti Kaikkonen made a statement that many observers regarded as a bid for the country’s membership in the North Atlantic alliance. D.G. Novikov drew attention to the fact that in the entire post-war history of Finland, this is the first time that its authorities publicly express their desire to abandon the non-bloc status of the country. The representative of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation expressed confidence that this initiative of Helsinki could be made public only if it was agreed with Washington. There is an attempt to hit Russia in the hand by denying our country even the right to come up with independent initiatives in the field of international security.
Commenting on a number of statements about the possibility for Russia itself to become a member of NATO, D.G. Novikov noted that this military-political bloc was originally created in order to fight the Soviet Union. Now the same course is being pursued in relation to the Russian Federation, although today there are no sharp ideological contradictions between Russia and the USA that took place between the USA and the USSR. On the whole, no one is seriously considering the prospect of Russia joining the alliance. This could only make sense at the stage of formation of the organization, when its architecture was determined. I.V. Stalin proposed such an option, but the former allies did not agree with this.
The guest of the studio rejected as utopian the idea of a possible transformation of NATO into a “more peaceful organization”. Behind the actions of the North Atlantic Alliance are the interests of the ruling circles of the leading Western countries and, above all, the United States. And their hegemonic aspirations are absolutely obvious.
Summing up what has been said, Novikov announced an extremely serious situation that has become the backdrop for negotiations on security issues. “The finale of this story should be that Russia muster up the strength to adequately respond to external challenges if it receives a firm “no” following the results of the ongoing negotiations.” As the Communist Party of the Russian Federation insistently emphasizes, the key to protecting national security is the transition from a policy of degradation to confident economic development.