MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. Russia will not allow NATO, which has pretensions to global hegemony, to alter the balance of power in the world, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday.
"NATO is seeking to change the balance of power for its own benefit, claiming global hegemony. We will not permit it to do so," he said in an interview with Russia’s Channel One television.
"This is the rationale for strengthening our cooperation with China, including in the area of security," he stressed. "And, this is the rationale for our decision to suspend the New START Treaty."
According to the senior diplomat, it is quite logical that Russia and the United States should each have their own range of priorities. "Should anyone in the West be willing to come to an understanding, then we would be seeking to balance these interests," Ryabkov noted. "But we see nothing of the kind. We see [only] attempts to impose unilateral approaches on us, on China, and on all others".