H.E. Mr. Yuriy Filatov:

I welcome the opportunity to continue our dialogue on the matters of mutual interest on international and bilateral agenda. It is obvious from our perspective that the most pressing issue now facing Russia, Europe and beyond is the threat to Russian national security resulting from the eastward expansion of NATO in recent years. The security situation on the western borders of Russia is unacceptable and has to be dealt with.

On December 15 2021, Russia proposed to the United States and NATO to sign legally binding agreements on security guarantees. The key provisions of these draft documents include obligations of non-expansion of NATO, non-deployment of offensive weapons near Russian borders, return to the configuration of NATO’s forces as at the time of the signing of the Russia-NATO Founding Act in May 1997, as well as confirmation that Russia and NATO do not consider each other as adversaries. The documents also imply mutual obligations of renunciation of the use of force, as well as interaction based on the principles of indivisible and equal security and mutual restraint in military planning.

I will outline for the committee the nature of Russia’s legitimate and reasonable concerns that are at the heart of our initiative. Having officially proclaimed Russia as the main threat, NATO has been implementing a doctrine aimed at containing Russia. NATO’s expansion led to the extension of the line of contact between Russia and NATO member countries. By advancing more than 1,000 km eastwards, NATO acquired capabilities to use non-strategic weapons to hit targets deep in Russian territory. Furthermore, the legal foundations of European security have been undermined by the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, known as the ABM Treaty, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and the Treaty on Open Skies - all with the tacit consent of NATO member countries. Moreover, NATO by its current doctrine is tasked with achieving military superiority in all spheres - sea, land, air, cyberspace and space - and in all theatres. It has been consistently involving other countries in its military activities, especially the neutral states such as Finland and Sweden. That is not to mention that NATO curtailed co-operation with Russia and imposed restrictions on the Russian permanent mission in Brussels, disrupting the political dialogue on security in Europe.

More recently, NATO intensified combat training activities in the immediate vicinity of Russia’s borders, including in the Arctic, that involve strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons, as well as naval missile defence systems. That also included increased military drills in the Black Sea region, with 15 last year compared with only eight in 2020, accompanied by more frequent reconnaissance aircraft flights in the area, which have increased by 60%. NATO’s greater capability of deployment of strike weapons at our borders, as well as the expansion of NATO’s military infrastructure further to the east, increases the risk of an armed conflict.

Of deep concern is the advanced status of the NATO-Ukraine enhanced capabilities partnership, Ukrainian military transformation on NATO’s standards, as well as the presence of alliance military personnel in that country.