NATO to change Europe security structure: Russia
Iran Press TV
Sat Apr 19, 2014 10:55PM GMT
Russia says NATO's further enlargement will change European security structure, posing a serious threat to Moscow.
NATO's further expansion and "one more step towards the Russian border" will cause "the entire European security architecture to be overhauled", Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, told the TVC television channel on Saturday.
Speaking about NATO's future plans for enlargement and Russia's reaction, Peskov said, "NATO cannot stop being a military organization" and "Russia will have to take measures to ensure its own security."
Concerning Ukraine's admission to the western alliance, he also stated, "The military-political future of this country, we hope, will not envision such membership for the time being."
Relations between Russia and NATO have been at their worst since Crimea's reunification with Russia back in March.
Earlier this month, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that Russia's alleged involvement in the current turmoil in Ukraine would result in "far-reaching consequences" in Moscow's relations with the West.
The warnings came one day after the alliance announced it was suspending all military and civilian cooperation with Russia.
Tensions between the Western powers and Moscow heightened after Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation following a referendum on March 16, in which nearly 97 percent of voters in Crimea said yes to reunion with Russia.
On March 21, Putin signed into law documents that officially made the Black Sea peninsula part of the Russian Federation despite condemnation from the West and the new Ukrainian government.
The move sparked angry reactions from the United States and the European Union, both imposing sanctions against a number of Russian officials and authorities in Crimea.
MSM/NN/AS
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
