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Russia-NATO relations cannot be called catastrophic because there are none — Lavrov

Russia is suspending the NATO Information Office in Moscow and the NATO Military Liaison Mission Moscow starting on November 1

TROMSO /Norway/, October 25. /TASS/. Russia-NATO relations cannot be called catastrophic because there are no such relations at all, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday after talks with his Norwegian counterpart, Anniken Huitfeldt.

"Relations between Russia and NATO cannot be called catastrophic because only what really exists can be called catastrophic," he said. "We have no relations with NATO."

On October 6, NATO announced the reduction of the Russian mission from 20 to 10 people and revoked the accreditation of eight diplomats. Two more open vacancies were eliminated. The Alliance said the Russian diplomats are to leave Brussels before the end of this month.

On October 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia was suspending its permanent mission to NATO from November 1. Apart from that, Russia is suspending the NATO Information Office in Moscow and the NATO Military Liaison Mission Moscow starting on November 1.