Amid enduring anxiety over the potential for the Ukraine war to escalate into a third world war, Russia last week offered to cement its disinterest in invading Europe by entering into a formal non-aggression pact with European Union and NATO states. However, Germany quickly signaled its disinterest in such a treaty -- at least for now. 

In making the case for pouring weapons and money into Ukraine and urging it to prolong the war at any cost, Western hawks routinely claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin is bent on reconstituting the Soviet Union and eventually conquering Europe. Speaking at the Third Minsk International Conference in Belarus last Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov not only rejected those accusations, but said his country was willing to enter into a non-aggression pact: 

"We have repeatedly said that we had, and have, no intention to attack any current NATO or EU member. We are ready to enshrine this position in future security guarantees for this part of Eurasia." 

Lavrov also expressed exasperation with Western governments, saying meaningful dialogue with them is futile for now, given their refusal to entertain "genuine collective security guarantees" that address the security interests of all parties -- including Russia: 

"The heads of state and government of the European Union avoid considering these future guarantees, which are based on a completely collective foundation, and proudly declare that, after the Ukraine crisis, security guarantees should exist not with Russia's participation, but against Russia. This is an example of their mindset."

Following up on Russia's offer at a press conference held by German Foreign Office spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer, journalist Florian Warweg of NachDenkSeiten asked about the German state's assessment of the non-aggression-pact overtures. Rather than crediting Russia's peaceful overture, Deschauer sidestepped the question, saying its Germany's position that "the Russian side must end its war. In the meantime, "the German government will continue to support Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression."  

Russia's offer and Germany's deflection come several weeks after Lavrov used an address to the United Nations General Assembly to refute the notion that Russia is seeking to attack European Union or NATO states. "Threats of force against Russia, accused of practically planning an attack on the North Atlantic Alliance [NATO] and the European Union, are becoming increasingly common," Lavrov said. "President Putin has repeatedly debunked such provocations."

At least temporarily rejecting a potential, major avenue of escalation that's been making headlines, President Trump on Sunday said he wasn't about to approve the shipment of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.  Asked aboard Air Force One if he was thinking of selling the long-range, precision-guided missiles to Ukraine, Trump replied, "No, not really." 

On Oct 22, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte brought the proposal up at a meeting at the White House, but Trump has expressed concern over depleting America's supply of the weapons. Last week, the Pentagon told Trump that the DOD had no such reservations, increasing the pressure on Trump to escalate America's arming of Ukraine. Though dismissing the idea Sunday, he didn't rule out subsequently changing his mind. 

With a 1,550-mile range, Tomahawks could put targets across a huge swath of Russia within Ukrainian range -- including Moscow. Russia has warned against introducing Tomahawks to the war -- arguing that their use would necessarily involve American service members. “Using Tomahawks without the direct participation of American military personnel is impossible," said Putin. "This would mark a qualitatively new, completely new stage of escalation between Russia and the US."