Russia has sought security assurances from the West or threatened serious confrontation

 

 Russia on Friday warned of the danger of a major confrontation with the West unless the United States and its allies seriously consider Moscow's security guarantees and also raised the prospect of a European missile crisis, Reuters reports.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov's comments at a briefing in Moscow came amid growing tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine and the build-up of Russian troops near its borders.

 Russia has said it is waiting to see where the idea will go, although Ryabkov said it would be "naive" to expect guarantees to be received. Bilateral ties are at their lowest point since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

"If our opponents on the other side - first and foremost the United States, but also other countries, their allies, the so-called like-minded countries - if they refuse and try to torpedo this, they will inevitably further worsen their own security situation." said Ryabkov.

"Disagreeing would mean getting closer to a big confrontation," he said.

 Ryabkov criticized the United States and its NATO allies for expanding its military capabilities in Eastern Europe.

"Before it is too late, we must avoid a new missile crisis in Europe. The emergence of short- and medium-range weapons in these territories is a direct path to escalating confrontation," he said.

 "As for the forms of response, if that happens, we are doing everything we can to make our opponents understand and explain to them what needs to be done to prevent this from happening." We will continue to strive for this. But, God forbid, it will happen, there will be forms of reaction and opportunities to protect us from the consequences of this kind of reckless action, "he said.

According to the diplomat, Washington's actions in the economic sphere are "very special" as the United States tries to use threats against the Russian Federation.

 "This is an unworthy trick in principle, it is ineffective even in terms of the goals pursued by the authors of the sanctions policy against the Russian Federation. There is even a logical inconsistency. It comes down to the fact that the threat of sanctions is aimed at certain actions that We do it on our own territory, claiming that the United States will decide what to do in our territory and what not. This is obviously too much, even from the point of view of simple human logic: do not enter the kitchen, because in this case we will no longer deliver food ", commented Ryabkov.