The Kremlin considers the G7 security guarantees to Ukraine an “attack” on Russia’s security and a “very dangerous” measure.
The security guarantees provided by the G7 to Ukraine, in the opinion of the Kremlin, constitute an “attack” on Russia. The Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said today: “The goal of the Group of Seven countries to give security guarantees to Ukraine is a very wrong and very dangerous measure, because these seven countries, in this way, threaten Russia’s security.” . In his words, the Atlantic bloc is “an offensive alliance that brings with it aggression and danger.”
Thus, Peskov answered journalists’ questions about how the Kremlin assesses the first results of the NATO summit in Vilnius and American statements on security guarantees for Ukraine. According to the presidential spokesman, “It is still too early to comment on the results of the summit before its completion, and the issue of Ukraine’s accession to NATO is directly related to the announcement that the G7 countries will provide security guarantees to Kiev.”
In his opinion, “these countries ignore the international principle of indivisibility of security.” “That by providing security guarantees to Ukraine, they are undermining the security of the Russian Federation (…) and that will make Europe a dangerous place for years and years,” he repeated. This morning, in Vilnius, the Director of Europe at the White House National Security Council, Amanda Sloat, said, as part of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that the G7 will announce security guarantees for Ukraine.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg indicated that the alliance has not yet taken decisions on granting security guarantees to Ukraine and is still working on the details. The Secretary-General indicated that the bloc will continue to provide military assistance to Kiev.
Peskov also said today that Russia “maintains a very negative position” regarding Ukraine’s hypothetical integration into NATO and has announced “countermeasures” if Kiev receives cluster bombs from the United States. In his words, “the possible use of this type of weapon changes the situation and, of course, forces Russia to take certain countermeasures.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is currently visiting Indonesia, warned that his country would take “appropriate measures” before expanding NATO, after he learned that Turkey had lifted its veto on Sweden’s accession. He also referred to Finland, stressing that “we will draw conclusions depending on the speed and depth with which NATO deploys its forces in the territory of Finland and Sweden.”
