“Our position on NATO expansion is well known - it will be a red line if the alliance continues to move closer to the borders of the Russian Federation,” Lavrov stated at a joint press conference after a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bisera Turkovic.
Asked if he discussed on Monday with the top diplomats of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Inal Ardzinba and Dmitrii Medoev, a response to the possibility of Georgia joining NATO, Lavrov responded in the negative.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry unveiled proposals to the United States and NATO on security guarantees, which, in particular, stipulate the alliance not expanding into Ukrainian territory. The documents have already been handed to Washington and its allies.
“The proposals we have made at the [Russian] President's [Vladimir Putin] order, which are related to ensuring the security of the Russian Federation in the context of common security in the entire Euro-Atlantic region, they clearly respond to the way we see the situation,” Lavrov explained.
The draft agreements reflect Moscow’s interest in avoiding negative developments and outcomes suggested by some strategists in the alliance, he added.