Absence of NATO’s response to Russian proposals on security and trust buildup measures indicates the bloc’s unwillingness to cooperate with Moscow on de-escalation of tensions, according to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

He made the statement following a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto in Helsinki on Tuesday. “We have spoken about our dialogue with the NATO member states on security issues and trust buildup and disclosed what proposals we introduced for NATO review more than one year ago, but never received a response,” Lavrov said.

“We conclude from this that NATO does not plan to liaise with us to develop and implement concrete measures on de-escalation and trust buildup,” he noted.The minister expressed his regret that NATO position is “supported by practical actions of the alliance and, first and foremost, of the US, who begin the Defender-Europe 20 military exercise, the largest in many decades,” TASS reports.

The diplomats discussed the Baltic Sea region situation in detail, including the Finnish president’s initiative on trust measures, Lavrov said. “We see no problems in this region that could require a military solution. Our proposals remain on the table, and we hope that common sense will prevail in NATO,” he added.