Russian Defense Minister: NATO isn’t ready for an equal dialogue with Moscow and is amassing forces near Russia’s borders
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu accused NATO on Saturday of gradually building up troops near Russia’s borders and of being unwilling to discuss European security with Moscow on an equal footing, Russian Interfax news agency reported.
Shoygu’s comments were the latest indication of the escalating tension between Russia and NATO after the defense ministers of the Western alliance approved a plan on Thursday to address any possible Russian attack on several fronts.
Germany’s defense minister called the plan a “deterrent”, but the Kremlin said on Friday the plan proved Moscow was right when it cut ties with NATO.
Last week, Russia closed its diplomatic missions to NATO and the NATO mission in Moscow after NATO expelled eight Russians accused of spying.
“NATO is gradually massing forces near our borders amid calls to deter Russia militarily”, Interfax quoted Shoygu as saying in a statement, without elaborating.
“The German Defense Minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, must really know what something similar has ended up with for Germany and Europe”, the Russian defense minister added, in what appeared to be a reference to World War II.
