ASTANA, April 26. /TASS/. Russia has never threatened NATO, as it has "neither geopolitical nor military interests" in attacking the countries of the alliance, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting of defense ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, who gathered in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
He accused Western advisers of preparing Ukrainian sabotage attacks targeting Russian territory, warned of possible "catastrophic consequences" that could arise from Kiev's shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and reiterated that all the goals of the special military operation will be accomplished.
TASS has put together the highlights of Shoigu's speech.
Situation in Ukraine
Washington engineered the conflict in Ukraine and is now making efforts to exacerbate it.
"The US first created the Ukrainian conflict and is now making deliberate efforts to prolong it," Shoigu said.
"On an almost daily basis, with the tacit consent of the West, Kiev uses the weapons it receives from the West to cause damage to the civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation," the minister said.
Western advisers are "directly engaged" in plotting Ukrainian attacks targeting Russian territory.
"The Russian armed forces continue to effectively conduct the special military operation. All of its goals will be accomplished," he said.
Situation at the Zaporozhye NPP
Kiev's ongoing strikes on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant are a "separate concern" because they could "entail catastrophic consequences."
Attack on concert hall outside Moscow
The traces of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall "also lead to Ukraine."
"All those responsible <...> will definitely be punished. It's only a matter of time," Shoigu said.
Relations with NATO
Russia has never planned to attack NATO countries and always made "as much effort as possible to preserve strategic stability and the balance of power in the world," the minister said.
"The Russian Federation has never threatened NATO. We have neither geopolitical nor military interests in attacking the bloc's countries," he said.
NATO, on the contrary, has moved closer to Russia's borders, creating threats to Moscow's security. "It wasn’t us that came to them, but they came to us. This shows again that we cannot trust Westerners. Now they reproach us that if Russia is not stopped in Ukraine, we will allegedly attack the alliance’s countries," Shoigu said.
The Middle East conflict
Russia is calling on all sides in the Middle East conflict "to exercise restraint and work to resolve problems by political and diplomatic means."
The West demonstrates double standards when "it comes to exercising the vital right to self-defense." One example is the "blatant attack on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus." Because of Western policy, the UN Security Council "was unable to take appropriate decisions."
Cooperation within the SCO
Military cooperation plays an important role in the interaction between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s members.
"We need to expand the geography and objectives of joint exercises, strengthen their media coverage and improve the training of units that are bought to take part in them. We are ready <...> to share experience and advanced methods of combat operations," Shoigu said.
The members of the organization should close their ranks against attempts "to engineer color revolutions and crises from the outside."
"We must jointly oppose the desire of our foes to destroy the long-established ties between the SCO countries," the minister said.
The membership of the group continues to expand.
"We welcome the accession of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and expect Belarus to become the next member in the near future," he said.