The bloc needs to consider the risks of a direct confrontation with Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said<\/p>\n
A recent statement by a NATO admiral that the bloc could consider a \u201cpre-emptive strike\u201d against Russia shows that it is seeking escalation and wants to derail the Ukraine peace process, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
\nZakharova was responding to an interview Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO Military Committee, gave to the Financial Times over the weekend. According to the admiral, the bloc should become \u201cmore aggressive\u201d and \u201cproactive\u201d in its dealings with Moscow.\u00a0He also claimed\u00a0that a\u00a0\u201cpre-emptive strike\u201d\u00a0could be considered a\u00a0\u201cdefensive action,\u201d\u00a0although it would be\u00a0\u201cfurther away from our normal way of thinking and behavior.\u201d
\nIn a statement published by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday, Zakharova described Dragone\u2019s words as\u00a0\u201can absolutely irresponsible move indicating the bloc\u2019s readiness to further move towards escalation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
NATO must be \u2018more aggressive\u2019 towards Russia \u2013 top commander<\/p>\n
\u201cAnti-Russian hysteria\u201d whipped up by NATO members is only stirring up the ongoing confrontation even further, she warned.
\nDragone\u2019s statement also debunks a myth about the \u201cpurely defensive\u201d nature of the military bloc, Zakharova said, adding that NATO \u201chas not been hiding its goals and intentions for a long time.\u201d The spokeswoman further accused the bloc of \u201cdeliberately seeking to disrupt efforts aimed at finding a way out of the Ukraine crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople making these statements should understand the corresponding risks and potential consequences, including for the bloc members.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EU has increasingly used anti-Russian rhetoric to justify massive military expenditures. The ReArm Europe package, presented in March, aims to mobilize up to \u20ac800 billion ($933 billion) to expand EU nations\u2019 militaries under the pretext of countering an alleged \u201cRussian threat.\u201d NATO also pushed its members commit to spending a total of 5% of their GDPs on the military this summer.\u00a0
\nMoscow has repeatedly stated that it has no intention to attack any NATO member,\u00a0but has warned of a harsh response if attacked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The bloc needs to consider the risks of a direct confrontation with Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said A recent statement by a NATO admiral that the bloc…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23523,"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-23522","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