21.01.2022, Moscow.
Russian proposals for security guarantees imply the withdrawal of NATO’s forces from Romania and Bulgaria, which joined the alliance after 1997, noted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his written responses to the questions at the annual press conference released on January 21 by the ministry’s press service.
“We are talking about the withdrawal of foreign forces, equipment and weapons and other steps in order to return to the 1997 configuration on the territory of countries that weren’t NATO members on the specified date,” says the report.
Romania and Bulgaria are among those countries. The document emphasizes that the particular part of the proposals was formulated very clearly for the purpose of not allowing any misinterpretations.
Therefore, the ministry responded to the journalists’ question about how Russia’s demand for NATO to return to the 1997 configuration applies to Romania and Bulgaria.
Since 1997, not only Romania and Bulgaria joined NATO, but also Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and the Baltic countries.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
