Kremlin says security guarantees sought by Ukraine are “a threat” to Russia’s security

The Kremlin said Wednesday that the security guarantees demanded by Ukraine as a preliminary step to finding a negotiated solution to the war pose “a threat” to Russia’s security, which is why it has defended the need to maintain the military offensive against the European country.

“We are talking about a certain document and no one hides that they had it in mind until the moment when Ukraine joins NATO. This means that the benchmark for Ukraine’s entry into NATO is still there,” Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Thus, he stressed that this implies that “the main threat to the country is still there” and argued that “it even acquires one of the reasons that made it necessary to carry out a special military operation”, a term used by Moscow to refer to the invasion unleashed on February 24 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Peskov reiterated that the document presented by Kiev “reiterates the relevance of the urgent necessity of the special military operation to ensure (Russia’s) security and national interests,” while noting that the security guarantees negotiated in Istanbul were based “on a completely different text.”

“In fact, (the aforementioned text) was initiated, but the Ukrainians rejected their obligations and the process was completed.” “Under the current ‘status quo’ and situation, it is difficult for anyone to give Ukraine a greater guarantee of security than that given by the Ukrainian leadership,” he explained, referring to Ukraine.

“Only this country (Ukraine) should take measures that would eliminate the threat from Russia. They know perfectly well what these actions should be,” Peskov reiterated, after the Ukrainian Presidency published a document with “recommendations” that include that “a core group of allies adopt clear commitments to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces, while a broader group would provide non-military guarantees based on sanctions mechanisms.”

The document calls for Kiev to have “the capacity to defend itself against an aggressor,” for which the country “needs the resources to maintain a significant defensive force capable of resisting Russian armed and paramilitary forces.”

“This requires a multi-decade effort of sustained investment in Ukraine’s defense industrial base, arms deliveries and Intelligence support from allies, intensive training missions and joint exercises under the flags of the European Union and NATO,” he gathers, as reported by the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.

It also stresses that “security guarantees must be affirmative and clearly formulated”, as well as “legally and politically binding on the basis of bilateral agreements”, which would include “preventive measures of military, financial, infrastructure, technical and information nature to prevent further aggression, as well as measures to be taken immediately in case of further encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”.