The war in Ukraine will not end until NATO removes its military presence from the Baltic region, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said in an interview with state news agency TASS, according to Newsweek.
Ryabkov, who oversees U.S.-Russia relations at the Foreign Ministry, claimed that the withdrawal of NATO forces from the Baltic states would help bring the war to an end.
"The American side demands practical steps to eliminate the root causes of the fundamental contradictions between us in the field of security. Among these, NATO expansion stands out," he said.
He stressed that
“without resolving this fundamental and most acute problem for us [Russia], it is simply impossible to settle the current conflict in the Euro-Atlantic region.”
Ryabkov reiterated Russia’s longstanding narrative that NATO’s eastern enlargement was a primary cause of the war and that the roots of the conflict lie not only in Ukraine, but in NATO itself.
According to Newsweek, Ryabkov’s comments may indicate a shift in the Kremlin’s official messaging, as Russia increasingly frames the war in Ukraine as part of a broader confrontation with the West.
