The first Russian assessment following the conclusion of the NATO summit came from Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov. “The Washington summit showed that NATO has irrevocably taken the path of confrontation and material preparation for war. The United States and its satellites are mobilizing maximum resources to preserve their collapsing hegemony,” Antonov said in a Telegram statement issued last night. “Anyone who refuses to submit to the dictates and will of the West is declared an enemy. Russia is again identified as the primary threat. NATO’s policy of refusing serious negotiations with our country was confirmed. The United States does not want to seek compromises and demands that we meekly agree with the movement of the alliance’s military machine to the East.
“Peace in Ukraine is viewed through the prism of Russia’s strategic defeat. Our country is presented as almost a fiend from hell. It’s time to stop building illusory ‘castles’ and understand that the Russian Federation was, is and will be. No one is destined to defeat us.
” ... NATO’s decision to further pump up the Kyiv regime with weapons against Russia and deploy long-range U.S. systems in Europe underscores the justification for launching a special military operation. The current steps of opponents to create additional threats to Russian security predetermine our adequate compensatory measures in the military-technical sphere.
“Europe is not enough for NATO. ... For the sake of imposing neocolonial orders, the North Atlantic Alliance actually declares the right to use force anywhere on the planet, be it under the pretext of exporting democracy, protecting human rights or fighting terrorism.”
After denouncing NATO-led “humanitarian interventions,” Antonov concluded: “It can be said without a doubt that the majority of states are alien to the policy of neocolonialism. The task of all sensible and peace-loving countries is to fight for multipolarity based on international law and the principle of equal and indivisible security.”
In St. Petersburg, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters, in response to the NATO declaration issued the day before, that the Alliance’s only goal is to dominate the world. “Regrettably, the only agenda that the Alliance has is based on its claims for global domination,” he said, commenting on NATO’s plans to work with the countries of the Black Sea region and the Western Balkans. “Sadly, those stuck in the past that pull the strings in NATO and develop some documents that surface later, triggering a reaction, are incapable of looking to the future,” he said. He added that recent years show that the West’s attempts to dictate to others, getting them to do its bidding, are failing.
Ryabkov warned that NATO will pay the price for its ambition. “They persist in their delusions, persist in their own sins. They will get what’s coming to them,” the senior diplomat said, replying to a question by TASSquestion by TASS about the U.S. intention to increase its presence in various world regions, including the Middle East and Africa.