Flags on the building of the OSCE headquarters in Vienna, Austria. File photoVIENNA, Feb. 2Russia is waiting for a reaction to the issue of security obligations, set in the message of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to colleagues from the OSCE countries, Konstantin Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation at the talks in Vienna on military security and arms control, said on Wednesday. S. V. Lavrov to colleagues from the OSCE countries, the question is: how do our partners understand their obligation not to strengthen their own security at the expense of the security of other states on the basis of adherence to the principle of indivisibility of security? since the mentioned commitment was made by each of the states individually, and not on behalf of alliances or blocs,» the diplomat said at the plenary session of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation. .jpg» />Lavrov said that Moscow is finalizing the response to the US response. He added that the possibilities for further work on security guarantees, taking into account the existing proposals, continue to be studied by Moscow. The day before, Lavrov said that an official request would be sent through the Foreign Ministry to colleagues in NATO and OSCE countries with an urgent demand to clarify how they intend to fulfill the obligation not to enhance their security at the expense of the security of others, and if not, explain why. The Russian Foreign Minister noted that the response of NATO and the OSCE will be a key issue in determining further proposals, which will be reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the end of 2021, Russia published drafts of a treaty with the United States and an agreement with NATO on security guarantees. Moscow, in particular, demands from its Western partners legal guarantees of refusing further expansion of NATO to the east, from joining the Ukrainian bloc and from establishing military bases in post-Soviet countries. The proposals also contain a clause on the non-deployment of NATO strike weapons near the borders of Russia and the withdrawal of alliance forces in Eastern Europe to the positions of 1997. On January 26, the US and NATO sent to Moscow written responses to Russia's proposals on security guarantees. According to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the document reflects US concerns about Russia's security actions and proposals on areas where countries can find common ground. According to him, there are «very positive things» in the written response, the US is ready to move forward in areas where cooperation with Russia is possible, it is ready to discuss common security, the response once again emphasizes that the US will not compromise NATO's «open door» principle.
Lavrov: West «rips out» only what it needs from OSCE regulations
