Russia does not seek military conflict with NATO: Deputy FM
Russia has no intention of entering into a military conflict with NATO, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Thursday.
Washington and its allies have made every effort to reduce communication with Moscow, reducing dialogue channels to zero, Grushko said in an interview with Russia's RIA Novosti news agency.
Only when Western states realize that they won't succeed by imposing their will on Russia, or be able to build security without Russia, will there be a chance for dialogue within the framework of a new security architecture, he said.
"It is fundamental for us that this architecture meets Russia's security interests," the diplomat said.
An instrument of power to ensure member countries' interests, NATO achieves this by attempting to achieve military superiority and resorting to military interventions that ultimately violate international law, he said.
In recent years, Moscow has repeatedly expressed security concerns about NATO's expansion activities on its western borders and said that NATO is aimed at confrontation. Meanwhile, NATO said in its Strategic Concept that Russia "poses the most significant and direct threat to Allies' security."