Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence

On February 16-17, Brussels hosted a NATO Council meeting at the defence minister level. Russia-related issues prevailed, and not for the first time. Russia was accused of continuing to build up its military presence, and not only “around” Ukraine but in Belarus as well. The Alliance is concerned about Russian-Belarusian exercises and troop movements on our own territory. That said, apparently NATO officials do not follow the news – after the exercises, the Russian troops return to their permanent deployment locations.

The alliance intends to “punish” us for this with an additional military buildup on the eastern flank, the deployment of new naval and air force units, and by expanding cooperation with Georgia and Ukraine, for which the door to NATO remains open.

NATO is once again using its “escalation for de-escalation” tactic. Historical experience shows that when tensions subside, the Alliance still does not reduce its military involvement. Considering that detailed plans for new NATO multinational battalion groups on the eastern flank will only be drafted in time for the next meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in May, NATO’s military potential near the Russian borders will keep growing.

The military-political situation in Europe continues to deteriorate. Russia’s proposals on security guarantees are aimed at improving this situation but we have never received a clear response from the Alliance. We hope talks on our proposals will continue. We will insist on NATO ending its provocative expansion policy, desisting from the deployment of strike weapons that threaten us near our borders and returning the configuration of its military potentials to their status as of the year 1997.