The bloc\u2019s influence has expanded across the continent and is \u201cextremely negative,\u201d the Russian foreign minister has said<\/p>\n
NATO\u2019s continued expansion and efforts to turn Eurasia into its \u201cfiefdom\u201d is a matter of serious concern for Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Speaking at a security conference in Minsk, Belarus, the chief diplomat ridiculed the bloc\u2019s insistence that it is a \u201cpurely defensive alliance.\u201d
\nAccording to Lavrov, NATO has been \u201cartificially expanding its zone of responsibility far beyond the Euro-Atlantic region\u201d by hijacking the idea of \u201cthe indivisibility of Euro-Atlantic security and the so-called Indo-Pacific region.\u201d The bloc\u2019s efforts to spread into Asia are being carried out with \u201cthe obvious goal of containing China, isolating Russia, and confronting the DPRK [North Korea],\u201d he added
\nLavrov noted that NATO has also been spreading its influence to other regions of Eurasia, including the Middle East, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and South Asia. \u201cEverywhere, they\u2019re trying to gain a foothold,\u201d Lavrov said, adding that in most cases this influence proves to be \u201cextremely negative\u201d due to the bloc\u2019s \u201caggressive policies.\u201d\u00a0
\n\u201cA reasonable question arises: if this is the general trend, do we want our entire vast, beautiful continent to be turned into NATO\u2019s fiefdom? We cannot agree with this,\u201d Lavrov stressed.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
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The minister also raised concerns over NATO\u2019s plans to intensify activities in the Arctic, stressing that Russia, as well as other \u201csensible countries,\u201d would like to see the region as a territory of peace and cooperation.
\nResponding to continued claims by Western leaders of a supposed threat posed by Moscow, Lavrov reiterated that Russia has no intention of attacking any NATO country and is willing to legally commit to this in future security guarantees.
\nAt the same time, the minister stated that the West is openly preparing for a \u201cnew great European war\u201d while EU leaders \u201cproudly\u201d declare that any future security guarantees should be signed \u201cnot with Russia\u2019s participation, but against Russia.\u201d
\nEU and NATO elites have adopted a policy of isolating anyone who pursues an independent policy based on national interests and common sense, Lavrov claimed, adding that \u201cas a result, there is no prospect of meaningful dialogue with the majority of these elites in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The bloc\u2019s influence has expanded across the continent and is \u201cextremely negative,\u201d the Russian foreign minister has said NATO\u2019s continued expansion and efforts to turn Eurasia into its \u201cfiefdom\u201d is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t