Moscow considers NATO’s moves to build up its presence in the Baltic region to be part of its deliberate policy aimed at containing Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following ministerial meeting of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) on Thursday.
“Of course, we are concerned about the military-political situation in the Baltic region and NATO’s efforts to build up its presence,” he said. “We see these processes as part of the deliberate strategic policy aimed at containing Russia.”
According to Lavrov, NATO’s leaders, primarily the United States, have never made a secret of this strategy.
“It is being implemented consistently, including by stepping up efforts to create a global missile defense system, which has nothing to do with either Iran or North Korea, but is related to containing Russia and China,” Lavrov stressed.