Threats to Russian security increasing: Russian envoy to US
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The Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov says the next step in Ukraine depends on the West's readiness for dialogue.
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Russian Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov.
The situation with NATO attempting to move closer to the Russian borders is extremely dangerous, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in an article published by Foreign Policy.
The envoy said NATO's attempts could force Moscow to create vulnerabilities against the alliance if it continues boosting its military presence in the region.
"No one should doubt our determination to defend our security," Antonov declared. "Everything has limits. If our partners keep constructing military-strategic realities imperiling the existence of our country, we will be forced to create similar vulnerabilities for them."
According to Antonov, Russia has come to a point where it has no room to retreat, and he asserted that NATO's military exploration of Ukraine is an existential threat for Russia.
He also underlined that NATO's criticism of Russian "aggression against Ukraine and Georgia" was predictable, but Moscow's actions have disrupted the alliance's plans of further encroachment on its borders.
The envoy also asserted that Russia and the United States required urgent action to restore the principle of equal and indivisible security. European security is at crossroads at the moment, he affirmed.
The Russian ambassador also urged the United States to join the Russian unilateral moratorium on the deployment of ground-based intermediate-range missiles. He also said the US must seriously consider Russia's proposal to withdraw exercise areas from the Russia-NATO contact line.
The Russian proposals do not infringe on US or NATO security. Instead, they create conditions for de-escalation in Europe and restore trust, he noted.
Antonov indicated that NATO's military activity in recent years has intensified, and the alliance held around 40 major military exercises annually in close proximity to Russian territory. Additionally, he said "The US has significantly increased its strategic flights along Russian borders, during which it trains cruise missile launches at targets inside Russia."
The latest Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) assessment says the combined NATO military expenditures exceed Russia's defense budget by at least 25 times, the envoy highlighted.
Read more: SIPRI: Arms sales of SIPRI Top 100 arms firms keep growing amid pandemic.
Russia is facing US-European allegations of having plans to invade Ukraine, in addition to a military buildup on their shared borders, which they claim amounts to 100,000 Russian troops.
The secretary of the Ukrainian Security and Defense Council said Thursday his country believed there was no immediate threat of a major Russian invasion. Similarly, Kyiv had denied in November Western reports of a Russian military buildup near its eastern border.
Russia has repeatedly denied Western allegations of intending to invade its western neighbor, and Moscow's Foreign Intelligence Service accused the US State Department of spreading false information about the alleged troop buildup.
US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the rising tensions over Ukraine between Moscow and the West in a phone call on Wednesday.
Following that call, the White House said in a statement that President Biden "voiced the deep concerns of the United States and our European allies about Russia's escalation of forces surrounding Ukraine."
