Lavrov: Russia Ready to Offer Security Guarantees to EU and NATO

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Moscow is ready to offer "security guarantees" to countries in the European Union and NATO, insisting that Russia has no hostile intentions toward them. His remarks came during the International Conference on Eurasian Security held in Minsk, Belarus, Russian state agency TASS reported.

Lavrov stated that Russia "has never had and does not have any plans to attack NATO or EU member states" and claimed Moscow is prepared to formalize this position in what he described as "future security guarantees for this part of Eurasia."

At the same time, the foreign minister criticized European leaders for refusing to engage with Russia on a collective security framework. According to him, the EU is distancing itself from discussions on joint guarantees and instead pursuing arrangements "not with Russia but against Russia."

Lavrov’s comments follow a series of recent statements in which he has sought to downplay Moscow’s responsibility for escalating tensions in Europe. Earlier, he argued that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did not violate the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which guaranteed Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders. He also rejected a U.S. proposal to halt fighting along the current front line, signaling no change in Moscow’s position on the war.