28 October 2025, 14:52

EU accused of avoiding collective discussion of security guarantees in Eurasia

Sergey Lavrov

MINSK, 28 October (BelTA) – EU leaders are avoiding a collective discussion of security guarantees in Eurasia, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said at the 3rd Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security, BelTA has learned.

The Russian top diplomat noted that, by whipping up anti-Russian hysteria under the principle of "war will write off everything," the Western countries are attempting to shift onto Moscow the responsibility for the mistakes they themselves have committed, including a vast number of errors and failures in the Ukrainian direction.

“I would like to ask: do Europeans feel more secure when their elites unbury the axe of war? I believe the answer is obvious. We have repeatedly stated that we have not had and do not have any intention of attacking any current member of NATO or the European Union. We are prepared to solidify this position in future security guarantees for this part of Eurasia. However, EU leaders are avoiding a collective discussion of these future guarantees," Sergey Lavrov said.

According to the minister, EU leaders have stated that after the Ukrainian crisis, security guarantees should not involve Russia but should be aimed against it. It is also concerning that NATO is artificially extending its area of responsibility far beyond the Euro-Atlantic. “To this end, the thesis of the indivisibility of Euro-Atlantic and so-called Indo-Pacific security has been put forward. When we ask how this aligns with the Washington Treaty that established NATO, we are told that the organization remains a purely defensive alliance and exists to counter threats to its member states. However, they claim these threats now come from everywhere, even from the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait,” the Russian top diplomat noted.

He pointed out that NATO is striving to secure a place for itself in the Pacific, undermining the very foundations of the regional security architecture that has been built over decades around the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “This is being done with the obvious goal of containing China, isolating Russia, and confronting the DPRK,” Sergey Lavrov asserted.

According to him, NATO is not neglecting other regions of Eurasia either: the South Caucasus, Central and South Asia. “This begs a legitimate question: if the general trend is such, do we want our entire vast and beautiful continent to be turned into NATO's domain? We cannot agree with that. Under new conditions, where all countries, their economies, and overall stability are interdependent, what is needed is not the bloc mentality of the Cold War era, but a fundamentally different philosophy of interstate interaction. Life itself is pushing us, in the spirit of multipolarity and multilateralism, to undertake a new arrangement of our geographical space,” the minister emphasized.

He noted that truly collective security cannot be limited to serving the interests of a narrow group of select nations. “No single country, group of countries, or organization should claim regional dominance. Unfortunately, that is precisely what NATO is doing,” Sergey Lavrov stated.

The 3rd Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security is running in the Belarusian capital on 28-29 October. The event is held under the auspices of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The conference has brought together delegations from over 40 countries and 7 international organizations. The participants include ministers of foreign affairs, heads of integration associations, representatives of parliaments, research institutes and analytical centers from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.