NATO’s further eastward expansion directly affects Russia’s security, says Lavrov

Moscow, (ST) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that NATO’s eastward expansion violates legal obligations and threatens Russia’s security.

Lavrov said during a press conference with his Brazilian counterpart Carlos Fransa in Moscow on Wednesday that “the policy of open doors for NATO leads to its unlimited expansion to the east, which constitutes a threat to Russia’s security.”

 He considered that the constant hysteria in the West over a “Russian invasion” of Ukraine is “amusing and surprising.”

Lavrov indicated that Russia may adopt a law on the possibility of imposing sanctions on companies and persons associated with Britain in response to similar British measures against institutions or persons associated with the Russian Federation.

The Russian Foreign Minister affirmed his country’s support for Brazil by becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and said that, “we cooperate closely with Brazil at the United Nations in various fields, especially in international security, resolving regional crises, not allowing the deployment of weapons in space, and enhancing the Chemical Weapons Convention.”

The Brazilian Foreign Minister stressed the need to develop bilateral relations between the two countries in all fields, and said that, “Russia is a technologically advanced country, and we are very interested in using Russian expertise in the military field and exchanging technologies and benefiting from that by enhancing Brazil’s defense capability.”

Earlier in the day, the first meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of Russia and Brazil took place in the “2 plus 2” format, and Lavrov said during the meeting that Russia is interested in the independence of Latin America and the countries of the Caribbean on the international scene. He added that Moscow sees the central role of Brazil in the development of this region.

Raghda Sawas