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The Russian Foreign Minister called NATO a relic of a past era

Lavrov: NATO is an atavism, tensions with the United States are their problems
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The tension between the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) and the United States is a problem for the organization. This was stated on January 29 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview with Turkish media.

"The alliance is an atavism, a relic of a past era. When the Warsaw Pact Organization was dissolved, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, all Soviet republics became independent, and any sense in preserving NATO completely disappeared," he said.

Lavrov recalled that the organization was created to contain the USSR and its geopolitical allies. According to him, there were also thoughts in the West that the alliance had lost its relevance, as well as proposals to join the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

"But those who said that the North Atlantic Alliance would not interfere prevailed, it was only necessary to find some sense of existence for it in modern conditions," Lavrov added.

The Russian Foreign Minister noted that countries that completely do not meet the criteria of membership began to be "drawn into" NATO. He added that, being in a trusting relationship with Western colleagues at that time, Moscow was interested in why they were "dragging" them into NATO.

"The answer was almost the same for all European and American interlocutors. They stated that these countries, after a short period of joint history with Russia within the framework of the USSR, retained phobias and were afraid that our country would "occupy" them again, Lavrov said.

He added that NATO promised to help countries co—exist with Russia "as good neighbors - to develop the economy, tourism, and cultural exchanges." As a result, none of this happened, Lavrov noted.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the OSCE Dmitry Polyansky said on January 22 that the European security system is deteriorating, and the whole world is approaching a military catastrophe. He also stressed that in Europe today, instead of readiness for analysis, the logic of military escalation prevails.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.

Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»

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