China News Agency, Moscow, February 11 (Zhang Mengtian Bing) Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held talks with British Defense Secretary Wallace in Moscow on the 11th on the situation in Ukraine and other security issues.
According to the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Shoigu said during the meeting that the situation in Europe is becoming more and more tense, but this is not Russia's fault.
The military-political situation in Europe has deteriorated significantly due to the escalation of tensions in and around Ukraine.
The U.S. and NATO lack substantive responses to key Russian security concerns.
The agreement on security measures requires the exclusion of further eastward expansion of NATO and the deployment of strike weapons near the Russian border.
He stressed that without addressing these issues, it is impossible to ease military-political tensions and build a solid European security architecture.
Shoigu expressed the hope that Russia and NATO will hold talks without escalating the situation and resolve issues in dialogue rather than threatening sanctions.
Shoigu expressed hope that Western countries will contribute to reducing tensions in Europe and stop supplying weapons to Ukraine.
Wallace said that Britain's supply of weapons to Ukraine is limited and only short-range missiles needed for defense.
Shoigu said that it is regrettable that the level of cooperation between Russia and the UK is close to zero and will soon turn into a "negative value".
Russia is ready to consider proposals to resume bilateral military cooperation between Russia and the UK.
Wallace said that he is willing to discuss bilateral and international and regional security hotspot issues with Russia in order to ease the overall tension.
During the talks, the two sides pointed out the importance of maintaining contact in order to prevent and reduce the risk of accidental conflict during military activities, and reached an understanding on the continued contact between the defense departments of the two countries.
Wallace said in an interview with British media after the talks that the talks with Shoigu were "constructive and frank".
He stressed that he had heard Shoigu's assurances that Russia would not "invade" Ukraine.
He also agreed with Russia's position that compliance with the Minsk agreement is important.
The day before, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks in Moscow with British Foreign Secretary Truss on issues such as bilateral relations and the situation in Ukraine.
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