Russia is closely tracking NATO statements about preparations for a potential attack by Moscow and remains vigilant amid heightened tensions with the alliance, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday.
"So, we hear what is being said, but, as the saying goes, we keep our guard up,” Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow after talks with Bendito Freitas, the foreign minister of Timor-Leste.
Lavrov said Moscow is focused on fulfilling the objectives set by President Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine, including preventing threats from its Western neighbors.
He also referred to recent tensions over Kaliningrad, saying Putin made it clear that any attack on the semi-exclave or another part of Russia would receive a response.
"When we issued a very clear statement in response to threats from Baltic and other NATO members-who have gotten out of hand-to attack the Kaliningrad region, we were immediately assured by both NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the US Permanent Representative to NATO (Matthew) Whitaker that the bloc has no plans to attack Russia-nor could it-and that NATO is, after all, a defensive alliance,” he said.
On Afghanistan, Lavrov said Russia regretted that participants in the latest Moscow Format consultations failed to adopt a final document because of tensions between Kabul and Afghanistan.
He claimed the dispute was linked partly to the presence of ISIS (Daesh) militants in both countries, and called for an end to interference by countries from outside the region.
"I have no doubt whatsoever that both Afghanistan and Pakistan are interested in normalizing relations. Russia is doing its utmost to facilitate the resolution of both persisting and newly emerging problems," he said.
Lavrov described his talks with Freitas as "highly productive” and said the two sides discussed expanding cooperation in energy, mining, fisheries and tourism.
He said Russia was ready to increase energy supplies to the Southeast Asian country and expressed support for expanding educational and law enforcement cooperation.
The ministers also discussed cooperation through ASEAN and developments in the Asia-Pacific region, with Lavrov criticizing Western efforts to create exclusive bloc-based structures outside the ASEAN-centered framework.
Lavrov said they also discussed Middle East, Iran, and the war in Ukraine. He said Russia and Timor-Leste would prepare for events to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations in May 2027.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the ministers held a "substantive” exchange of views on bilateral issues, including deepening political dialogue, expanding trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation and strengthening the legal framework of their relations.
Lavrov said Freitas also discussed key international and regional issues and urged closer coordination between Russia and Timor-Leste within the U.N. system and the Russia-ASEAN dialogue partnership, it said.