MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. NATO’s endeavors to spread its influence beyond the Euro-Atlantic region, in particular, to the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America, are a matter of concern among most nations in the Global South, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference after his talks with Bolivian counterpart Celinda Sosa in Moscow.
"I believe that the overwhelming majority of countries around the world - including the Global South - understand the dangers associated with this and realize that funds will be siphoned from them to NATO and then used up," the top Russian diplomat said. "Those may be right who, instead of playing this geopolitical game which NATO views as a zero-sum game, [prefer] to handle their domestic affairs and provide normal education, including for their fellow citizens."
Lavrov recalled Russia's shaky ties with NATO owing to the alliance’s broken promises and aggressive moves.
"Numerous promises turned out to be lies," the minister stated. "And the fact that NATO is in fact trying to be a defensive alliance, as they assure everyone, is another pack of lies."
Instead of defending its common territory under the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO seeks to expand into the Indo-Pacific region, the Russian foreign minister said.
"The bloc’s bodies are already being set up there, replicating the NATO ideology, NATO's mentality. Talk continues about NATO infrastructure making its way there. A NATO-Japan agreement has been announced. And what is more, the Asia-Pacific region is not enough for them so they need to head for Latin America," Lavrov said, outlining the current situation.