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Russia’s envoy sees no signs of NATO’s changing its eastward expansion plans

Russia and NATO have managed to reach certain agreements on flights of warplanes over the Baltic Sea

© AP Photo/Virginia Mayo

MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. Russia’s Ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko said on Tuesday he sees no signs of NATO’s rolling back its eastward expansion plans.

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Kremlin says Russia views NATO expansion negatively

"The process of forming command headquarters at the eastern flank continues. Plans have been announced to expand presence in the Black Sea. So far, we see no signs that these plans are going to be adjusted after the new administration came to power [in the United States]," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.

A forthcoming meeting of the NATO defense ministers on the expansion of the alliance’s presence in the Black Sea due to be held in Brussels on February 15-16 "is another step towards building up confrontation with Russia," he stressed.

Russia and NATO have managed to reach certain agreements on flights of warplanes over the Baltic Sea with their transponders on, he went on.

"A working group on the Baltic Sea worked under the umbrella of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The group dealt with the problem of transponders. Certain agreements were reached within this group, which have made it possible to partially settle this problem. Having heard this group, the Russia-NATO Council supported it work. It will meet again on March 3," Grushko said.

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