Russian Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu has stated that western countries needed to stop seeking Russia’s strategic defeat.
Speaking at the Xiangshan Forum, China’s biggest annual event centred on military diplomacy, in Beijing on Monday, October 30, 2023, Shoigu accused the west of promoting an arms race in the Asia-Pacific region.
He said that the West’s “ostentatious desire for dialogue” was a cover up a building up of forces in that region.
Shoigu noted that the emergence of new security blocs such as the Quad and AUKUS undermined the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and nuclear non-proliferation efforts in the region.
Shoigu also appeared to play down Russia’s decision to revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, claiming it did not mean the end of the agreement, and that Russia was not lowering its threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.
“We are only seeking to restore parity with the United States, who have not ratified this treaty,” Shoigu was quoted as saying.
“We are not talking about its destruction,” he added.
Additionally, the Russian Defence Minister accused the United States of fuelling geopolitical tensions to uphold its “global dominance by any means” and warned of the risk of confrontation between nuclear-armed countries.
According to Shoigu, U.S. forces will use information exchanges with Tokyo and Seoul on missile launches to deter Russia and China. He also accused Washington of trying to use climate change and natural disasters as an excuse for “humanitarian interventions.”
“Washington for years has deliberately undermined and destroyed the foundations of international security and strategic stability, including the system of arms control agreements.”
Sergey Shoigu
Furthermore, Shoigu accused NATO of trying to expand its footprint in the Asia-Pacific under the pretence of seeking dialogue and collaboration with regional countries.
He added that the U.S and its western allies are threatening Russia through NATO’s expansion “to the east.”
Moreover, Shoigu claimed that Moscow was ready for talks on the post-conflict settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and on further “coexistence” with the West.
The conditions for talks had not yet been met, he said.
Stressing that the conditions for such talks were not in place yet, Shoigu remarked, “It is also important to ensure equal relations between all the nuclear powers and permanent United Nations Security Council members who carry special responsibility for upholding peace and global stability.”
Russia And Ukraine In A Stalemate
Meanwhile, Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko opined that Russia and Ukraine are locked in a stalemate on the frontlines of their war and the two sides need to sit down and negotiate an end to the conflict.
Lukashenko, who is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, described the current state of the conflict as “head-to-head, to the death, entrenched. People are dying.”
“There are enough problems on both sides and in general the situation is now seriously stalemate: no one can do anything and substantively strengthen or advance their position,” he said on Sunday, October 29, 2023.
Lukashenko said that Ukraine’s demands for Russia to quit its territory needs to be resolved at the negotiating table “so nobody dies.”
In a question and answer video posted on the website of the Belarusian state news agency, Lukashenko remarked, “We need to sit down at the negotiating table and come to an agreement.”
He added, “As I once said, no preconditions are needed. The main thing is that the ‘stop’ command is given.”
Being a staunch ally, Lukashenko provided his country’s territory as a launch pad for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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