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Lawmaker thanks US military official concerned with "resurgent Russia" for compliment

Konstantin Kosachev commented on US Air Combat Command Commander Gen. Herbert Carlisle’s remarks on interceptions of US warplanes by Russian and Chinese aircraft

MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. The concern of US military officials about "resurgent Russia" can be considered as a compliment, chairman of Russian Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

"The very fact that some other country is resurgent already represents a cause of concern for the Pentagon, though we can probably be glad about such compliment coming from an American. This is in some way a recognition. It looks like he was reported that Russia is resurging, and it is time to start worrying. Thank you for the kind words," Kosachev said, commenting on US Air Combat Command Commander Gen. Herbert Carlisle’s remarks on interceptions of US warplanes by Russian and Chinese aircraft.

"The fact that some countries do not want US aviation to constantly appear near their borders, is outrageous. A character from a famous film said, ‘Sometimes, when you speak, Ivan Vasilyevich, it seems to me that you are delirious’. And one can get an impression that some US military officials do not fully understand what they are saying," Kosachev concluded.

Carlisle said in an interview with USA Today newspaper that the United States will continue to operate in international airspace and international waters. "Our concern is a resurgent Russia and a very, very aggressive China," he said adding that the concerns are caused by attempts of Moscow and Beijing to expand their influence in Eastern Europe and the Pacific region. "Their intent is to get us not to be there… So that the influence in those international spaces is controlled only by them. My belief is that we cannot allow that to happen. We have to continue to operate legally in international airspace and international waterways," Carlisle noted.