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INTERVIEW BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO NATO A.GRUSHKO TO "Rossiya 24" channel
INTERVIEW BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO NATO A.GRUSHKO TO "Rossiya 24" channel
30 March 2016
Russia will not passively watch the US military build-up in Europe and will give an asymmetrical response to it. We are not passive observers, we consistently take all the military measures we consider necessary in order to counterbalance this reinforced presence that is not justified by anything. Certainly, we’ll respond totally asymmetrically.
There are grounds to assume that NATO will continue a course, which was generally outlined at the Wales summit. It provides for considerably strengthening NATO’s ‘eastern flank’ alongside with maintaining the channels of conducting a dialogue with Russia on questions of mutual interest.
We see that the United States continues to reinforce its military presence in Europe. However, the situation in the sphere of security forces NATO to look to the south as it is there where the real threat is being formed, so I expect that the measures for reinforcing the Alliance’s southern frontiers will be announced in Warsaw at the NATO summit.
We see that the plan to increase readiness approved at the NATO summit in Wales is being consistently implemented, new and new measures aimed at ‘calming down’ US allies in Eastern Europe are announced".
Within the next few days, this will possibly be done during a visit of [NATO Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg [to the US on April 4], it is expected that the US may specify parameters of increased military presence in Europe.
As of the present day, assessing as a whole what that the US and NATO are doing, the point at issue is a substantial change for the worse in the security situation.
One can’t imagine the situation when those countries [Ukraine and Georgia] keep cherishing the hope to join NATO and the alliance really plans to admit them, as this would explode the situation and put Europe on the brink of a crisis, whose size and scale can’t be imagined today.
Reconnaissance aircraft will not fly over Russia. It seems to me that these [statements on resumption of flights by US reconnaissance planes - TASS] are nothing more than another propaganda trick.
There are grounds to assume that NATO will continue a course, which was generally outlined at the Wales summit. It provides for considerably strengthening NATO’s ‘eastern flank’ alongside with maintaining the channels of conducting a dialogue with Russia on questions of mutual interest.
We see that the United States continues to reinforce its military presence in Europe. However, the situation in the sphere of security forces NATO to look to the south as it is there where the real threat is being formed, so I expect that the measures for reinforcing the Alliance’s southern frontiers will be announced in Warsaw at the NATO summit.
We see that the plan to increase readiness approved at the NATO summit in Wales is being consistently implemented, new and new measures aimed at ‘calming down’ US allies in Eastern Europe are announced".
Within the next few days, this will possibly be done during a visit of [NATO Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg [to the US on April 4], it is expected that the US may specify parameters of increased military presence in Europe.
As of the present day, assessing as a whole what that the US and NATO are doing, the point at issue is a substantial change for the worse in the security situation.
One can’t imagine the situation when those countries [Ukraine and Georgia] keep cherishing the hope to join NATO and the alliance really plans to admit them, as this would explode the situation and put Europe on the brink of a crisis, whose size and scale can’t be imagined today.
Reconnaissance aircraft will not fly over Russia. It seems to me that these [statements on resumption of flights by US reconnaissance planes - TASS] are nothing more than another propaganda trick.