The confrontation with Russia has become the raison d'etre for the North Atlantic Alliance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Trud newspaper.
"Now, just like during the cold war, the fight against Russia on all fronts, including information and propaganda, has become the raison d'etre of the Alliance. NATO has deployed extensive activity on the Eastern flank, close to our borders, including conducting exercises and improving military infrastructure. The Alliance continues to expand its military and political influence, inviting all new countries under its "umbrella" under the slogan of protecting them from Russia, " he said.
The Minister, pointing out that there are no real threats to security, stressed that such actions by NATO only contributed to new dividing lines in Europe. Lavrov also drew attention to the fact that Russia has repeatedly offered NATO measures to reduce tensions and reduce the risk of incidents on the continent. "Against the background of the pandemic, we put forward an initiative to observe military restraint, proposed the withdrawal of operational exercises from the Russia-NATO contact line, and other transparency measures. Russia has already refused to conduct large-scale exercises near the borders of NATO countries, and has moved large-scale events to the interior of the country as part of the training of troops. However, the Alliance does not demonstrate readiness for similar steps, " Lavrov said.
The Russian Foreign Minister added that the Alliance adhered to the line of "deterrence and dialogue" in relations with Russia, although "there is practically no place for real and open dialogue on pressing issues in the end."
Relations with the EU
Lavrov also noted that discussions within the EU on assessing the current approach in relations with Russia did not cause Moscow to overestimate expectations.
As Lavrov pointed out, this discussion was initiated by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. "We do not follow this process without interest, although we do not have high expectations for it - there is too much ideological narrow-mindedness and stagnation of thinking towards our country in some EU states, even to the detriment of our own national interests. However, this is their choice and they are responsible for it," the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
According to him, the pandemic "accelerated thought processes" in the European Union. "They are increasingly in favor of strengthening their own "strategic autonomy" in international affairs, " the Minister explained. Russia, as stated by Lavrov, is not opposed to strengthening the EU's independence in international affairs.
"At one time, for example, we offered to cooperate with Brussels in crisis management and the development of military-technical capabilities. And today we consider the EU as a potential participant in the [Russian] presidential initiative Vladimir Putin's concept of forming the Greater Eurasian Partnership, " he said. The Minister added that this would be useful for the European Union, " contributing to the integration of regional integration potentials and expanding access of European economic operators to the Eurasian markets."
"We hope that a sober analysis of the realities of a multipolar world will still encourage the EU to rethink clearly outdated approaches on the Russian track. For our part, we are always open to honest, mutually beneficial cooperation," the Russian Foreign Minister concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS