The Russian Foreign Ministry has published a letter sent by the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov To Finland and other countries.
On Tuesday, Finland confirmed that it had received a message from the Russian Embassy on behalf of the Minister about security guarantees.
Relations between Russia and the West have tightened further as the build-up of Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders has raised fears of a resurgence of the conflict.
In a letter to several EU and NATO member states, Lavrov questions whether they are complying with their obligations. "not to strengthen their own security at the expense of the security of other states."
Although the document repeatedly referred to the security agreements signed at OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) summits, a group of 57 member states, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs stated that, to their knowledge, all OSCE members had received the letter.
Lavrov referred to the agreements e.g. European Security Chartersigned at the OSCE Summit in Istanbul in November 1999.
Lavrov: NATO is on track for “irresponsible enlargement”
He borrowed "the principle of indivisible security" mentioned in the Charter and accused the EU and NATO countries of interpreting it as they saw fit and using it to further their own programs.
"The West continues to extract only the elements that suit them, namely – the right of states to choose freely alliances solely to ensure their own security," the letter stated.
Lavrov also blames countries for a narrow rather than collective approach to security.
"The principle of indivisible security is selectively interpreted as a right to the ongoing course towards the irresponsible enlargement of NATO." he adds.
The letter calls for a clear and swift response from individual Member States rather than a consortium on how governments intend to maintain their commitment to indivisible security.
In December, Russia called on the United States and NATO to stop expanding the military alliance to the east.
The Finnish Foreign Minister at a press conference on Tuesday Pekka Haavisto said the authorities would go through the letter and discuss possible responses with other EU countries.
The original Russian version of the letter was also published.