MOSCOW. Feb 16 (Interfax) - Russia stands ready to discuss security with the West, but not at the expense of discussions on Moscow's key concerns, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"It is not so much about the West's proposals, but Russia's proposals, which the West has received over the past 2-3 years and rejected one by one. But now that we have so decisively brought up the security problem in Europe, it [the West] has been forced to admit it and has even presented them as its own initiatives," Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
The West has voiced its readiness to hold dialogue on issues related to the creation and deployment of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles, the transparency of military exercises and the restoration of contacts between the militaries, he said.
"Now the West has set forth all these tracks in its responses that we have received, expressing a readiness, as was said, to engage in a serious dialogue on these problems, and we certainly view it as a positive step and will be ready for such dialogue, but only if it does not take place at the expense of clarifying the fundamental points of our stance regarding the need to avert NATO's unreserved eastward enlargement, and to look for ways to ensure the security of all Euro-Atlantic countries," Lavrov said.