The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry in his message to the United States, Canada and European countries stressed that some states should not strengthen their security at the expense of others. Lavrov asked the addressees of the appeal to respond to it individually
The European Union will not comply with the request of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov from his message to the heads of the foreign ministries of the United States, Canada and European countries. The EU will send a collective response to Lavrov instead of individual ones, writes Bloomberg with a link to a draft of this document.
Lavrov’s appeal was published February 1 on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry. In his message, the minister referred to the European Security Charter signed in Istanbul in 1999, which, in his opinion, the West interprets selectively “to justify the course taken towards the irresponsible expansion of NATO.” Lavrov stressed that, in accordance with the charter, no country should strengthen its security at the expense of others.
“We proceed from the fact that the response to this message will come in a national capacity, since the mentioned obligations were taken by each of our states individually, and not on behalf of or as part of any bloc,” the Foreign Minister emphasized.
A response to Lavrov’s letter on behalf of all 27 EU countries will be prepared by his High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell, reports Bloomberg. According to agency sources, the EU’s position will be coordinated with NATO, which will also prepare its own response.
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