NATO's Expansion To Russian Borders Unwarranted - Ambassador To Canada

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2022) NATO's expansion to Russian borders is unwarranted and causes grave concern about the country's security, Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov said on Saturday.

"We believe that NATO's expansion up to our borders is unwarranted. And as we see the advance of the military infrastructure of NATO to our borders we are concerned for our security," Stepanov told the Canadian CBC tv broadcaster.

The ambassador stressed that Russia is not going and has no desire to invade Ukraine.

In addition, Stepanov noted that negotiations on security guarantees with NATO countries could fail if Moscow does not get what it wants. The ambassador also said that in case Western countries impose new sanctions against Russia, it will have consequences in bilateral relations.

In the past few months, the West and Ukraine have accused Russia of massing troops near the Ukrainian border in alleged preparation for invasion. Russia has dismissed these claims, maintaining that it has no intention of invading Ukraine while stressing that it has the right to move forces within its own territory.

Russia has also expressed concern over NATO's military activity near its borders and the ongoing military support for Ukraine, including an increase in the number of Western instructors in Donbas.

In December, Russia presented draft proposals on security guarantees in Europe to the United States and NATO. On January 10, Russia and the US held a round of the strategic stability dialogue in Geneva, followed by the first NATO-Russia Council since 2019 in Brussels on January 12 and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe talks in Vienna the next day. Russia-Ukraine relations were high on the agenda during talks.