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RIA Novosti
Military preparations of NATO near the borders of Russia and lead to a dangerous arms race. This was stated by the Russian foreign Ministry.
“We consider the attempts to bypass Fundamental principles of the act as dangerous and contrary to the genuine interests of the member States of NATO. We see this as the desire of the Alliance to legitimize the military preparations near the borders of Russia, which together with the military activity of individual countries in the block are changing the balance of power in Europe and lead to a dangerous arms race,” — said in the message published on the website of the Russian diplomatic Department.
The foreign Ministry noted that the measures taken to strengthen the “Eastern flank” of NATO to increase its military presence and infrastructure in the border regions dilute the provisions of the Basic act, particularly in respect of the obligations “to carry out its collective defence and other tasks by ensuring the necessary interoperability, integration and capacity, rather than by additional permanent placement of substantial combat forces”.
Moscow also urged NATO to abandon its efforts to build relations with Russia in the spirit of schemes and mechanisms in the era of confrontation.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said about the cohesion of the Alliance on policy toward Russia.