Russia received NATO invitation, but won’t attend Lisbon until questions are answered
Bythe Kyiv Post
From the Kyiv Post: Russia has received an official invitation to attend NATO’s summit in Lisbon in November, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"We received an invitation just as I was about to leave for New York [on September 19]. We are now drafting a report to the president," Lavrov told Rossiya 1 television on Saturday. …
NATO’s new strategic concept is a key issue that Russia views as a matter of concern in its relations with the alliance, Lavrov said. …
"The recommendations that were formulated in the end include plenty of ideas which, we think, reflect modern-day realities and needs from the point of view of using NATO resources to tackle global problems. But, at the same time, these recommendations contained quite ambiguous phrases, including NATO’s ambivalent position towards Russia," Lavrov said. …
"On one hand, according to this draft concept, we are a partner, but, on the other hand, it implies that NATO’s new members should be protected from us," Lavrov said. …
Russia will decide whether or not to attend the NATO summit in Lisbon after it receives answers to two questions, Lavrov said.
"The first question is: what attitude will be chosen towards Russia in the end? And the second question is: how will NATO regard itself in relation to international law, the UN Charter and the prerogatives of the [UN] Security Council?" he said.
Lavrov said he had asked these questions at last week’s informal ministerial meeting between Russia and NATO. (photo: Ilya Pitalev/RIA Novosti)
