In brief
At an OSCE‑sponsored roundtable on 9 November, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow has no intention, plans or reason to attack European states and would act only if provoked. He also urged that long‑term European stability requires recognising Russia’s interests and criticised NATO’s escalation‑management concept, which he said could provoke dangerous risks.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told a roundtable organised by the Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe (OSCE) on 9 November that Moscow has no intention, plans or reason to attack any European country and would only act if provoked.
He said that the West’s framing of a military confrontation in Europe as “almost predetermined and inevitable”‑a view he criticised—it was a misconception to believe conflict would occur without Russian incitement—was unfounded. "Russia poses no threat to anyone and has no plans to attack any country in the near, medium or long term," Ryabkov told the audience.
Ryabkov also noted that he believed some European governments had not sought a genuine resolution to the Russia‑Ukraine war. According to him, the conflict might have been settled by earlier, balanced solutions that took into account the legitimate interests of all parties, but the West’s push for Ukraine to abandon reasonable options forced a war.
He stressed that long‑term stability in Europe cannot be achieved without considering Russia’s and its allies’ interests, and that Moscow would eventually be ready to engage in dialogue on the basis of equality, indivisible security, pragmatism, and mutual consideration of interests. “Moscow believes that European countries would sooner or later be willing to engage in dialogue with Russia on the basis of equality, indivisible security, pragmatism and mutual consideration of interests,” he said.
Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control, also spoke at the event. She said European states had shown no vision for their own future beyond “the notion that a conflict with Russia was inevitable.”
"European countries had offered their populations no vision of the future other than the notion that a conflict with Russia was inevitable," Zhdanova said.
She further criticised NATO’s “…“"escalation management" concept, calling it harmful and a mistake that encourages NATO and the European Union to act recklessly. She stated that the concept “effectively encourages NATO and the European Union to act recklessly and does nothing to reduce military risks.”
The roundtable—titled “Militarization of Europe: What Next?”—focused on the perceived threat of renewed conflict and the potential risks of heightened military posturing across the continent. Ryabkov warned that Western discussions of inevitable war risk escalating tensions if they are not grounded in a realistic assessment of Russia’s motives and actions.
While none of the statements were accompanied by a formal statement from Moscow’s top leadership, the deputy minister’s remarks reinforced the Kremlin’s official stance that it does not seek to threaten European security and is open to constructive dialogue if recognised as having an equal footing.
At the time of the remarks, the international community remained divided over the prospects for a negotiated end to the Ukraine conflict and over whether European security would be further stressed by reassured talks in the north of the continent. Regardless of these divisions, the Russian deputy foreign minister’s comments provided a clear view of Moscow’s public position on the issue.
