Russian diplomat says Moscow could conclude non-aggression pacts with NATO member states

A senior Russian diplomat said on ​Wednesday that Moscow could conclude non-aggression pacts ​with NATO member states ‌as part ​of a new security architecture for Europe being discussed as part of the Ukraine peace process. Vladimir Medinsky, Russia's chief ‌negotiator at those Ukraine peace talks - which resumed this week for the first time since February - said on Wednesday that the idea of a new security framework for Europe had ‌been the central theme of two days of negotiations in Abu Dhabi, but ‌did not provide details of what had been discussed.

Alexey Drobinin, a senior diplomat at Russia's Foreign Ministry, on Wednesday outlined a series of detailed proposals on the idea to a security conference in ⁠Moscow. The ​first option he set ⁠out was that of a collective defensive alliance or of bilateral mutual assistance agreements like those Russia ⁠has with Belarus and North Korea.

The second possibility he cited included political agreements not to ​help each other's adversaries in the event of aggression, like the pact Moscow ⁠has with Iran. And the third option he presented were bilateral mutual non-aggression pacts.

"For example, agreements of this ⁠kind ​could be reached, among other things, with individual NATO member states, which would then receive, for instance, additional individual security guarantees from the Russian Federation," Drobinin ⁠told the conference, according to video of his speech posted online. Some European politicians oppose any ⁠discussion of Europe's overall ⁠security architecture, saying progress on Ukraine - including a ceasefire - must be agreed first, although US officials have made clear they are ‌open to ‌such discussion.