Moscow - Saba:
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has confirmed that NATO's plans to rearm the armies of alliance members, increase military budgets, and reform the command structure are specifically designed for a military confrontation with Russia.
Grushko told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Future 2050 Forum in Moscow: "If we look back at NATO, we really see—and this is evident not only in the exercises, but also in the plans to re-equip armies, increase military budgets, reform the command structure, and create new commands—that all of this military buildup is, to a large extent, designed for a military confrontation with Russia."
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister also noted that the alliance's readiness for a conflict with Russia is a reality that today defines Moscow's military and political relations with NATO countries.
These statements come a day after NATO exercises in the Baltic Sea, at a time when the European region is experiencing unprecedented tensions since the end of the Cold War, amid strained relations between the West and Russia over the Ukrainian crisis. These massive military exercises aim to test NATO's ability to rapidly deploy forces over long distances and enhance coordination between the various militaries of the alliance's members.
In recent years, Russia has observed unprecedented NATO activity near its western borders. The alliance is expanding the scope of its initiatives, describing them as "containing Russian aggression."
Moscow has expressed concern on several occasions about the alliance's bolstering of its forces in Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Russia remains open to dialogue with NATO, but on an equal footing, while the West must abandon its path toward militarization of the continent.
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