On Wednesday, senior Russian diplomat Alexei Drobinin said that Moscow could conclude non-aggression pacts with NATO member states as part of a new security architecture for Europe being discussed in the context of the peace process on Ukraine, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
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Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s chief negotiator in the peace talks on Ukraine—which resumed this week for the first time since February—said on Wednesday that the idea of a new security system for Europe was the central topic of the two-day talks in Abu Dhabi, but provided no details about what exactly had been discussed.
Alexei Drobinin, a senior diplomat at Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presented a series of detailed proposals on the idea at a security conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
The first option he outlined involves creating a collective defense alliance or concluding bilateral mutual assistance agreements—similar to those Russia has with Belarus and North Korea.
The second option, he said, involves political agreements not to provide assistance to the other party’s adversaries in the event of aggression—similar to the pact Moscow has with Iran.
The third option he proposed is bilateral non-aggression pacts.
"For example, agreements of this kind could be reached, among others, with individual NATO member states, which in that case would receive, say, additional individual security guarantees from the Russian Federation," Drobinin said at the conference (according to a video recording of his speech published online).
NATO plans to change its military strategy, focusing on deterring Russia - Politico11.11.26, 15:53
Some European politicians oppose any discussion of Europe’s overall security architecture, arguing that progress must first be made on Ukraine—including reaching a ceasefire agreement. At the same time, U.S. representatives have indicated that they are ready for such a discussion.