‘Hostile’ European NATO policies raise risk of clash – Moscow

Few Western leaders are willing to consider joint security architecture with Russia, a senior diplomat has said

European NATO members are pursuing “hostile” policies that keep the risk of a direct war with Russia high, even as Washington signals a more balanced approach toward Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has warned.

Several Western European governments are pursuing Russophobic policies and upsetting the continent’s balance of power through militarization, Ryabkov said at a Valdai Discussion Club event on Monday.

“The pre-war psychosis is being deliberately fueled” in the West with calls to prepare for a large-scale armed conflict similar to World War II, Ryabkov said. “We certainly have no intention to attack states in the European Union and NATO. Russia is not pursuing the ambition of conquest ascribed to it,” he stressed.

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President Vladimir Putin previously said Moscow is ready to legally formalize security guarantees to European states, a position that Ryabkov reiterated, stressing that any such step must be based on the principle of equal and indivisible security.

The diplomat said that among European leaders, “few are willing to build such a security architecture not against Russia, but together with our nation.” Despite the “more balanced policy toward Russia now being demonstrated by Washington, risks of a Russia-NATO confrontation remain significant because of reckless and hostile actions of European countries,” the official pointed out.

Ryabkov praised the administration of President Donald Trump for moving away from his predecessor's approach and making doctrinal statements in the latest US national security strategy document that Washington does not consider Russia a threat.

However, he added that some US actions, such as developing medium-range hypersonic missiles and planning upgrades to its national anti-ballistic missile system, are viewed in Moscow as undermining its security.