NATO won’t stop Russian military action as tensions threaten to escalate, says commander
A LEADING NATO commander accused Russia of “escalating tensions” between Moscow and the West but insisted that Vladimir Putin is “not the enemy” as he said the military alliance has “no desire to get involved in a new Cold War”.
The military alliance’s Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone, claimed that they should try to “understand” Moscow’s motives and protect their own interests at the same time.
Speaking at a NATO parliamentary assembly in Istanbul he said: “Russia can develop and deploy its fleet to any areas, but NATO does not intend to stop it.
“Russia is not our enemy and we have no desire to get involved in a new Cold War."
“NATO is trying to understand Russia and not to hurt its own interests at the same time,” the Briton added, insisting that “some Baltic sates, which are NATO members, are meticulous about their territorial waters”.
The vice admiral, however, accused Moscow of “escalating tensions instead of controlling the situation”.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg added to Vice Admiral Johnstone’s comments, insisting that the alliance is purely defensive and aim to prevent not provoke a conflict between Russia and the West.
He said: “Everything NATO does is defensive, proportionate and fully in line with our international commitments.
“Before Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine, NATO had no plans to send troops to the eastern part of our alliance.
“NATO’s aim is to prevent a conflict, not provoke a conflict.
“Moreover, we firmly believe and are firmly committed to a two-track approach to Russia.
“Strong defence coupled with meaningful dialogue. When tensions run high, it is even more important to keep channels of communications open. With increasing military activity close to our borders, we must do everything we can to prevent military incidents or accidents.
“And if they occur, we must keep them from spiralling out of control. That is why we held two meetings of the NATO-Russia Council this year.”
This comes Russia deployed missiles and nuclear-capable systems in retaliation for NATO deployments.
Moscow’s military chiefs signalled that Vladimir Putin is preparing for war as they revealed the Kremlin is deploying much-feared Iskander and S-400 long-range missiles defence systems deep in Europe.
Iskander missiles are nuclear-capable and the deployment to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad puts vast swathes of Europe in the crosshairs of Moscow’s short-range ballistic missile programme.
With a range of roughly 300 miles, the missiles could hit targets as far away as Berlin, Poland and Sweden with an atomic warhead.
Confirmation of the retaliation to NATO’s military plans came from the head of the defence committee in the Russian upper house of parliament.
Viktor Ozerov told Russian news agency RIA the government saw the deployment of its missiles near the western border as a response to Washington setting up a US missile shield in Europe.
NATO plans to send 4,000 troops, planes, tanks and artillery to former Soviet republics in the Baltics and to Poland next year.
But bosses at the Brussels-based alliance believe there are around 330,00 Russian troops stationed near to Moscow.
(Source : express.co.uk)
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A NATO commander has accused Russia of escalating tensions between the West
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The military alliance’s Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone, claimed that they should try to “understand” Moscow’s motives and protect their own interests at the same time.
Speaking at a NATO parliamentary assembly in Istanbul he said: “Russia can develop and deploy its fleet to any areas, but NATO does not intend to stop it.
“Russia is not our enemy and we have no desire to get involved in a new Cold War."
“NATO is trying to understand Russia and not to hurt its own interests at the same time,” the Briton added, insisting that “some Baltic sates, which are NATO members, are meticulous about their territorial waters”.
The vice admiral, however, accused Moscow of “escalating tensions instead of controlling the situation”.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg added to Vice Admiral Johnstone’s comments, insisting that the alliance is purely defensive and aim to prevent not provoke a conflict between Russia and the West.
He said: “Everything NATO does is defensive, proportionate and fully in line with our international commitments.
“Before Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine, NATO had no plans to send troops to the eastern part of our alliance.
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| Russia have deployed nuclear-capable missiles into Europe that can strike Berlin |
“NATO’s aim is to prevent a conflict, not provoke a conflict.
“Moreover, we firmly believe and are firmly committed to a two-track approach to Russia.
“Strong defence coupled with meaningful dialogue. When tensions run high, it is even more important to keep channels of communications open. With increasing military activity close to our borders, we must do everything we can to prevent military incidents or accidents.
“And if they occur, we must keep them from spiralling out of control. That is why we held two meetings of the NATO-Russia Council this year.”
This comes Russia deployed missiles and nuclear-capable systems in retaliation for NATO deployments.
Moscow’s military chiefs signalled that Vladimir Putin is preparing for war as they revealed the Kremlin is deploying much-feared Iskander and S-400 long-range missiles defence systems deep in Europe.
Iskander missiles are nuclear-capable and the deployment to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad puts vast swathes of Europe in the crosshairs of Moscow’s short-range ballistic missile programme.
With a range of roughly 300 miles, the missiles could hit targets as far away as Berlin, Poland and Sweden with an atomic warhead.
Confirmation of the retaliation to NATO’s military plans came from the head of the defence committee in the Russian upper house of parliament.
Viktor Ozerov told Russian news agency RIA the government saw the deployment of its missiles near the western border as a response to Washington setting up a US missile shield in Europe.
NATO plans to send 4,000 troops, planes, tanks and artillery to former Soviet republics in the Baltics and to Poland next year.
But bosses at the Brussels-based alliance believe there are around 330,00 Russian troops stationed near to Moscow.
(Source : express.co.uk)
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