Russia cannot accept West's 'collective' reply to challenge on indivisible security - Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. Feb 11 (Interfax) - Russia cannot accept a collective reply from the West to its challenge concerning indivisible security and is expecting a detailed reply from each addressee, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

"We can't accept a 'collective' reply which looks like 'a mutual cover-up'. We are expecting a detailed response to the question we have asked from each addressee," Zakharova said in an answer to a media question published on the Russian Foreign Ministry website on Friday.

"There is no substantive response to the direct question in the 'documents' received," Zakharova said.

"Instead of this, we have been invited to start a dialogue on strengthening security," she said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's message was addressed to the foreign policy chiefs of 37 countries of Europe and North America, Zakharova said. "And it stressed specifically that we expect a detailed reply in a national capacity," she said.

However, "instead of this, we got letters from [NATO Secretary General] Jens Stoltenberg and [European Union foreign policy chief] Josep Borrell, whom we had not even addressed," she said.

"This step cannot be described other than a manifestation of diplomatic impoliteness and disregard for our request," she said.

"The OSCE and Russia-NATO documents stipulating the principle of indivisible security are signed by the heads of state and government of the relevant countries," Zakharova said.

"Countries participate in the OSCE in a national capacity, and it is precisely in this capacity that they committed themselves to not strengthening their security at the expense of others," she said.

"Dodging an answer means that the West does not want to acknowledge obligations they undertook at the OSCE and Russia-NATO level and are trying to care about their security at our expense," she said.