Russia has no plans or intention to attack European countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, warning that Moscow would respond to any aggression. He accused Western nations of escalating tensions and said lasting European stability requires dialogue with Russia.
Russia has no intention, plans or reason to attack European countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion titled “Militarization of Europe: What Next?” held under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Ryabkov said Western countries were discussing the possibility of a military conflict in Europe as if it were “almost predetermined and inevitable.”
According to a release posted on the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website, he said that Russia poses no threat to anyone and has no plans to attack any country in the near, medium or long term, adding that Moscow would be “forced to respond” if subjected to aggression.
Ryabkov also said some European governments had no genuine intention of ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The conflict could have been resolved while taking into account the legitimate interests of all parties, but the West had pushed Ukraine to abandon reasonable solutions and choose war, he said.
On the future of Russia-Europe relations, he said Moscow believes European countries would sooner or later be willing to engage in dialogue with Russia on the basis of equality, indivisible security, pragmatism and mutual consideration of interests, Xinhua news agency reported.
Long-term stability in Europe cannot be achieved without taking into account the interests of Russia and its allies, Ryabkov said.