Speaking to a gathering at the Valdai Discussion Club on Dec. 22, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov reiterated that Russia is willing to make legally binding guarantees about not attacking any NATO countries, reported TASS(https://tass.com/politics/2063149). Moscow “is even ready to legally enshrine this with regard to a potential solution to the current crisis based on the principle of equal and indivisible security,” Ryabkov said, referencing a comment made earlier by President Putin about this. By “equal and indivisible security,” the Russians have repeatedly made clear that they mean that Russia must also receive corresponding security guarantees.
Nonetheless, Ryabkov expressed pessimism that such a step would ever be welcomed by Europe. “However, very few in Europe—referring to EU nations and European NATO allies—are willing to build such an architecture not against Russia but together with our country,” Ryabkov noted. In his view, “if they ever recognize an indivisible security space, it would only be for the collective West.”
