Lavrov: US Medium-Range Missiles May Soon Be Deployed in Europe

STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) - The architecture of strategic stability is rapidly collapsing, and US medium-range missiles may soon appear in Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

"The architecture of strategic stability is rapidly collapsing, NATO is refusing to constructively consider our proposals to de-escalate tensions and prevent dangerous incidents. On the contrary, the military infrastructure of the alliance is being brought closer to the Russian borders. A nightmare scenario of a military confrontation is returning," Lavrov said at a meeting of the 28th OSCE Ministerial Council.

Lavrov added that Moscow will insist on the development of agreements that will exclude NATO's advance to the east.

"In a dialogue with the United States and its allies, we will insist on the development of agreements that would exclude any further NATO advances to the east and the deployment of weapons systems that threaten us in close proximity to Russian territory. In the near future, we will submit appropriate proposals, we look forward to their serious consideration in essence, without reservation, and we think that the OSCE can play a very useful role here," the minister said.

He added that Moscow categorically rejects the transformation of Russia-bordering countries into a military foothold.

Russia is ready to restore a dialogue with the United States on Ukraine and is interested in uniting efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, Lavrov went on to say.

"We are interested in joining efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. Our American colleagues have said more than once that they want to help without destroying the Normandy format, by restoring a separate channel of dialogue that existed under the previous administration. We are ready for this," the Russian foreign minister said during his meeting with US counterpart Antony Blinken.

Lavrov added that he expects explanations about a statement alleging Russia has not been fulfilling the Minsk agreements.

"It will be very interesting for me to hear Tony's explanations of the statements that he made just at the plenary session, naming the points of the Minsk agreements that Russia must comply with. I look forward to clarifications and I hope this will help me navigate what approaches the United States will follow in the settlement in Ukraine," the foreign minister said.

Mr Lavrov also touched upon the issue of the functioning of Russian and US embassies.

"The problems faced by Russian diplomats in the United States, and in response, we were forced to strive to create similar comparable conditions for American diplomats in our country … I believe that this is one of those topics that can be resolved very quickly and send a signal that we can still come to an agreement," Russia's top diplomat said.