NATO has no intention of developing de-escalation & trust-building measures with Russia, Lavrov says

The absence of a response by NATO to Russian proposals on security and trust-building measures indicates the bloc’s unwillingness to cooperate with Moscow on the de-escalation of tensions, according to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

He made the statement following a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto in Helsinki on Tuesday. “We have spoken about our dialogue with the NATO member states on security issues and trust building, and disclosed proposals we introduced for NATO review more than one year ago but [to which we] never received a response,” Lavrov said.

“We conclude from this that NATO does not plan to liaise with us to develop and implement concrete measures on de-escalation and the building of trust,” he noted. The minister expressed his regret that NATO’s position is “supported by [the] practical actions of the alliance and, first and foremost, of the US, who begin the Defender-Europe 20 military exercise, the largest in many decades,” TASS reports.

The diplomats discussed the Baltic Sea region situation in detail, including the Finnish president’s initiative on trust measures, Lavrov said. “We see no problems in this region that could require a military solution. Our proposals remain on the table, and we hope that common sense will prevail in NATO,” he added.