The Foreign Ministry named the conditions for resuming dialogue with NATO

Until NATO abandons its policy of “containing” Russia, dialogue will not resume. This was stated by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia in Geneva, Andrei Belousov, at a meeting of the First Committee of the UN General Assembly.

“Until the North Atlantic Alliance abandons its east-oriented expansionist agenda and its policy of containing Russia, attempts to resume any dialogue are doomed to failure,” he said (quote according to RIA Novosti).

The diplomat added that discussion of a new conventional arms control regime in Europe (COVE) will be possible only if the West abandons its “hostile anti-Russian policy.” He added that in the future the formation of such a regime will require “fundamentally new approaches and mandatory consideration of Russia’s national interests.”

Belousov also pointed to increased tension in the world, the escalation of regional conflicts and the increase in “militant rhetoric.” According to him, normalization of the situation is possible only on the basis of compliance with generally accepted norms of international law, the principles of the UN, as well as “through reaching agreements on the renunciation of destabilizing military activity and on arms control.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously repeatedly pointed to the West’s policy of containment towards Russia. During WEF in September of this year, he noted that the West takes such actions every time Russia “begins to develop.” By opinion Russian leader, the West deliberately provoked a conflict in Ukraine in order to limit Russia’s economic growth.