“In practice, these relations have now declined to the level of direct confrontation,” the spokesman said. According to Peskov, NATO countries and the alliance itself, which is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its founding, are already directly involved in the conflict surrounding Ukraine. He added, “NATO continues to move towards our borders, and expands its military infrastructure towards our borders.”
He believed that NATO was showing its essence, as the alliance was created by the United States as a means of confrontation, primarily on the European continent. “NATO continues to perform its function in this regard, which, however, currently does not contribute in any way to security, predictability and stability on the continent, but, on the contrary, has become a destabilizing factor,” Peskov said.
Andrei Kartapolov, Chairman of the Defense Committee of the Lower House of the Russian Parliament, responded to Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski's statement that NATO member states had established a joint mission in Ukraine. Kartapolov believes that this action could be aimed at legitimizing the next steps, and gave the possibility that Russia will monitor them.
kpd\kkzo\gjé\kvs
Cover image source: Getty Images