HOWEVER, since Rust code is intrinsically much, much safer than C code, stability of API is much more legitimate a characterizer of the version that you want than bug-fixes (and bug-fixes are almost never security/safety related).
Please please please. Bug fixes, specifically the ones that get shipped fairly quickly, are almost always security related. Security bugs are just a class of bugs. Also, till I see some way of formally verifying, that rust code is safe enough that security issues are not possible, remind me to be quite sceptical of the claim that Rust code is secure. In the last two years, we have seen classes of bugs believed to be impossible. I will accept your claim that in the hands of an average programmer, Rust is probably safer, but we have enough experience with C/Assembly, that I am gonig to claim that with someone experienced, they can create as secure/safe programs in C, as experienced folks in Rust.