Moscow. December 24. INTERFAX - Moscow appreciates Beijing's reaction to its proposals concerning security guarantees, calls on the West not to discount the determination of the Russian Federation and China to protect their national interests, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
"We appreciate her (reaction), we are grateful to Beijing for such a clearly and unambiguously expressed attitude to our proposals. I think that colleagues in China understand perfectly well that the speech (...) by and large, we are talking about such a geopolitical crisis to a large extent. We cooperate closely with the People's Republic of China in a variety of areas. Our relations are unique - they are relations of comprehensive strategic partnership in the literal sense of every word that is embedded in this phrase," Ryabkov said in an interview with the International Life magazine.
"Absolutely unique relations between the leaders of our countries. State apparatuses work closely together. We have a lot of military cooperation. All this will deepen. We do not underestimate, neither Moscow nor Beijing, the risks that the Western group, which has taken such a stand in recent years, creates for us," the senior diplomat added.
"Some members of this group are waiting for the command "fas!", others themselves are torn "off the leash". Let's see what happens next. We work calmly, confidently in our own abilities. There is probably one recommendation to colleagues in the West: "Do not underestimate the determination of Moscow and Beijing to protect their national interests, including in the field of security," the deputy minister continued.
