Russian officials: NATO deceived us
3 Min Read
The official spokesperson for the Russian presidency clarifies the main points made in President Vladimir Putin's statements about security guarantees and says that NATO deceived the Russians with its expansions.
-
Russian officials: NATO deceived us
On Wednesday, a Kremlin spokesperson summarized President Vladimir Putin's remarks on security assurances proposed, claiming that NATO tricked Moscow and that Ukraine can attack Russia.
Putin discussed three key topics about NATO, Ukraine, and Russia's attitude on these matters during a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow on Tuesday.
"I would just like to highlight three very important messages from the president for you. The first message is about the fact that at one time we were very deceived when it [NATO] promised not to expand [eastward], then expanded," Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Second, the use of force to reclaim the regions is directly linked to Ukraine's national security plan, according to the spokesperson.
"In this case, hypothetically in the future, in the foreseeable or distant future, we may encounter when a NATO member, Ukraine, can attack Russia. Given the nationalist-minded elements, not only at the bottom but also at the top in the leadership, this cannot be ruled out. Then we will face the threat of war between Russia and NATO," Peskov said.
In this context, the official also stated that, given Kiev's nationalist sentiment, "it cannot be ruled out that Ukraine may in the future forcefully intrude on Russia's Crimea." The third reason is that the notion regarding "open doors" is undocumented, according to the spokesperson.
Security guarantees
On Wednesday, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the US and NATO answers to Russia's security assurances suggestions, which were published earlier in the day in Spain's El Pais newspaper.
"We did not publish anything and I do not want to comment on it. You need to address the newspaper or the Spanish government, at least not to us. We have, of course, seen the publication. Yesterday, President [Vladimir Putin] gave a general conceptual assessment of the answers received in the part that concerns fundamentally important issues for Russia," Peskov told reporters.
When asked who could have given the media outlet the US and NATO comments, the official recommended against guessing.
According to a response to Russia's security proposal acquired by Spain's El Pais daily, the US and NATO have confirmed to Moscow that they will not deploy nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe in response to security guarantees.
The use of military action by the US and NATO is currently "limited, proportionate, and in full conformity with commitments in the Russia-NATO Founding Act," according to the US.
"We have continued to refrain from the 'additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces' as well as from placing nuclear weapons in Eastern European states," the document says.
