The policy of pulling Ukraine into the NATO with the possible deployment of strike missile systems near Russian borders creates military risks, up to a large-scale conflict in Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

“The policy towards pulling Kiev into NATO with a prospect of strike missile systems appearing near our borders creates unacceptable security threats to Russia, provoking serious military risks for all the parties involved, up to a large-scale conflict in Europe”, - says Russia’s top diplomat.

Lavrov added that he had held negotiations with his US counterpart Antony Blinken on the sidelines of an OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting in Stockholm on December 2, and on December 7 Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden held a talk via a video-conference. As Minister pointed out, the Ukrainian crisis and the absence of progress in the fulfillment of the Minsk Agreements on settling the situation in eastern Ukraine topped the agenda of these talks.