Comments and response to the question of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the plenary session of the International Forum for Collective Security (Moscow, November 10, 2026).
Key points:
Russian initiatives to establish a single treaty-based legal framework for security across Europe have been rejected. I remember very clearly that I reminded our Western colleagues of the principle of indivisible security. It requires that no country or organization in the Euro-Atlantic region strengthen its security at the expense of others or claim dominance.
As you know, our last attempt came in December 2021, when we tried to prevent the inevitable. I want to emphasize this point, as President Vladimir Putin has explained more than once. We knew for sure that serious preparations were being made, with the support of the West, for a major military crackdown against the Donbass (Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics). We couldn't let that happen.
We have no illusions about the administration of US President Donald Trump. We recognize the fundamental differences between us over the future of international politics. Even so, it's always better to talk. This was true even during the Cold War, when our military maintained contact with their American counterparts. This remains true of our relationship with the US today.
We have our own position paper [on a new security architecture in Eurasia]. We also have what CSTO Secretary General Tlatbek Mesdikov has just described. The CSTO works closely with other sub-regional organizations on the continent, including CIS and SCO, and has signed memorandums of cooperation with them.
In Africa there are about a dozen sub-regional organizations. Latin America also has probably about ten such organizations. Both regions also have a continent-wide umbrella organization that brings together all their countries.