WASHINGTON, July 11. /TASS/. NATO leaders have pledged that they don’t seek confrontation with Russia and are ready to keep the channels of communication with Moscow open, according to the final declaration of the NATO summit in Washington.
"NATO does not seek confrontation, and poses no threat to Russia. We remain willing to maintain channels of communication with Moscow to mitigate risk and prevent escalation," the declaration reads.
At the same time, the NATO leaders alleged that "Russia seeks to fundamentally reconfigure the Euro-Atlantic security architecture." "The all-domain threat Russia poses to NATO will persist into the long term. Russia is rebuilding and expanding its military capabilities, and continues its airspace violations and provocative activities. We stand in solidarity with all Allies affected by these actions," the document says.
Nuclear rhetoric
The NATO leaders condemned "Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and coercive nuclear signalling, including its announced stationing of nuclear weapons in Belarus, which demonstrate a posture of strategic intimidation."
"Russia has increased its reliance on nuclear weapon systems and continued to diversify its nuclear forces, including by developing novel nuclear systems and deploying short and intermediate range dual-capable strike capabilities, all of which poses a growing threat to the Alliance," they said in the declaration. They also alleged that Russia has violated its arms control obligations, "thereby undermining the global arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation architecture." "We oppose any placement of nuclear weapons in orbit around Earth, which would violate Article IV of the Outer Space Treaty, and would gravely threaten global security," the declaration says.
The NATO leaders also expressed concern over "the reported use of chemical weapons by Russia against Ukrainian forces."
Position on new regions
The declaration also says that NATO will never recognize the reunification of the new regions and Crimea with Russia, which they called annexation. The NATO leaders also urged Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine, as well as from Moldova and Georgia. They also blamed Russia for the conflict in Ukraine, "the deaths of thousands of civilians and has caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure." They also accused Russia of delivering strikes on hospitals in Kiev on July 8.