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Medvedev says NATO 'playing with fire' with latest military exercises

The politician stressed that Russia doesn’t plan to attack any of the bloc’s members

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev Yekaterina Shtukina/POOL/TASS

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev

© Yekaterina Shtukina/POOL/TASS

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Moscow has no plans to attack any NATO country, something that is clear as day to anyone with an ounce of sense in the West, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev wrote on the VKontakte social media platform.

Commenting on NATO’s Steadfast Defender 2024 exercise, the largest since the end of the Cold War, he noted that this was "playing with fire in a very dangerous way."

"We don’t plan to attack any of the bloc’s members. This is clear to all reasonable people in the West. However, if they get carried away playing and encroach on our country’s integrity, they will immediately receive an appropriate response," Medvedev pointed out. According to him, "it will mean one thing - a big war that NATO won’t be able to dodge."

NATO's Steadfast Defender 2024 exercise is being held in Europe from February to May. Thirty-one member states and NATO hopeful Sweden are taking part in the drills. The bloc’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia Javier Colomina said in an interview with the Armenpress news agency that the drills are aimed at deterring Russia, which the alliance views as a threat.

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Foreign policy Dmitry Medvedev NATO

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