The Western countries should refrain from creating military facilities on the territory of the former Soviet Union states, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
According to Lavrov, the West has not yet demonstrated its willingness to provide Russia with legally binding, long-term security guarantees, particularly to abandon further NATO expansion.
This included the withdrawal of the Bucharest Summit Declaration stipulating that Ukraine and Georgia would become members of the alliance.
“Western countries should abandon the creation of military facilities on the territory of states that were formerly part of the Soviet Union and are not members of the alliance NATO.
“This includes the use of their infrastructure for any military activities,’’ Lavrov told Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament in a pre-recorded address.
He noted the need to revert NATO’s military capacity, including strike capabilities, and infrastructure to the state of 1997, when the NATO-Russia Founding Act was concluded.
“For us, achieving these goals is of principal importance,’’ Lavrov added.
(Sputnik/NAN