MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. NATO, despite objective interests of supporting peace and stability in Europe, focuses efforts on "containment" of a non-existing "threat from the East," spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said in a comment on NATO summit in Warsaw.
"The Russian side studies closely decisions of the NATO summit on July 8-9 in Poland’s capital city," she said. "However, even initial analysis demonstrates NATO continues being in some military-political "wonderland". Despite objective interests of supporting peace and stability in Europe, necessary uniting potential of all responsible international players in fighting realistic, not artificially invented, modern challenges, the alliance focuses efforts on "containment" of a non-existing "threat from the East"."
"Striking misbalance in enforcement of the NATO flanks on the background of unprecedented scales of the terrorist threat coming from the southern direction proves the growing evident gap between the alliance’s polices and the current demand in protecting and securing people in the NATO member-countries," she said. "The attempts to demonize Russia in order to justify the undertaken steps in the sphere of military construction, pulling attention from the destructive role of the alliance and its certain allies in provoking crises and supporting tension centers in various parts of the world have been gaining much hypertrophied forms."
At the same time, the diplomat continued, still being ignored are the negative consequences and risks for the entire system of the Euro-Atlantic security, "which emerge from Washington’s and Brussels’ deliberate actions to change the existing balance of force, including in the forced implementation of the U.S./NATO anti-missile plans in Europe."
"We expect from NATO representatives explanations regarding the organization’s enforcement in all "directions" during the upcoming Russia-NATO Council's meeting at the level of permanent representatives due July 13," Maria Zakharova said. "In the context of declared "peaceful aspirations" of the bloc, of interest is also the position of Brussels regarding the initiative of the Finnish counterparts - the so-called "Niinisto plan," regarding improvement of aviation safety above the Baltic," she said.
The NATO summit on July 8-9 in Warsaw featured 65 delegations from 28 NATO countries and 26 partner-states, as well as representatives of the UN, EU, the World Bank and NATO headquarters. The meeting’s key result was the decision to deploy additional NATO forces in Eastern Europe and in the Black Sea Region.