MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2021) Moscow believes that NATO should be the first to take steps to improve the bilateral relations after a diplomatic row saw ties deteriorate, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
"We do assume this, as we have never initiated the degradation of relations either with NATO or with the European Union or with any country in the West or any other region," Lavrov said in response to a question about whether the onus is on the other side to repair battered relations.
Lavrov also accused NATO of "burying" the Russia-NATO Council, which could convene for urgent consultations amid crises.
Commenting on the issue of the closure of the NATO information office in Moscow, Lavrov noted that it had to be expected since there had been no information exchanges with the NATO headquarters for a long time and all military-to-military contacts had been officially cut off.
In this light, the top Russian diplomat criticized Western partners who had lamented the loss of opportunities for dialogue and accused Moscow of being unwilling to negotiate, saying that their statements showed "an understanding that their positions are losing" and "a desire to blame someone else and a lack of diplomatic culture."
To illustrate his point, Lavrov noted that Moscow proposed two years ago to agree on the guidelines for military exercises on the line of contact between Russia and NATO and on minimum distances allowed for combat aircraft and warships. "(In response) just a wall of silence," he added.
