MOSCOW, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia has no intention, plans or reason to attack European countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion titled "Militarization of Europe: What Next?" held under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Ryabkov said Western countries were discussing the possibility of a military conflict in Europe as if it were "almost predetermined and inevitable."
According to a release posted on the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website, he said that Russia poses no threat to anyone and has no plans to attack any country in the near, medium or long term, adding that Moscow would be "forced to respond" if subjected to aggression.
Ryabkov also said some European governments had no genuine intention of ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The conflict could have been resolved while taking into account the legitimate interests of all parties, but the West had pushed Ukraine to abandon reasonable solutions and choose war, he said.
On the future of Russia-Europe relations, he said Moscow believes European countries would sooner or later be willing to engage in dialogue with Russia on the basis of equality, indivisible security, pragmatism and mutual consideration of interests.
Long-term stability in Europe cannot be achieved without taking into account the interests of Russia and its allies, Ryabkov said.
At the same event, Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control, said European countries had offered their populations no vision of the future other than the notion that a conflict with Russia was inevitable.
She described NATO's concept of "escalation management" as harmful, saying it was a mistake to believe that an escalation between Russia and NATO could be kept under control. The concept effectively encourages NATO and the European Union to act recklessly and does nothing to reduce military risks, Zhdanova said. ■
