Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s department of European affairs, said in a Jan. 29 interview with TASS that NATO is gearing up for war against Russia. “At present, Russia is defined as `the most significant and direct security threat’ in all of the North Atlantic Alliance’s doctrinal documents as the bloc emphasizes that it will remain such a threat in the long term, even if the Ukraine conflict is resolved,” the senior Russian diplomat said, when asked if Russia and NATO could revive dialogue any time now or in the future.
“Given this, NATO is in fact making preparations for a potential conflict with Russia by increasing military expenditure, building up its capabilities along our borders and deploying additional missions and operations in eastern Europe,” Maslennikov explained.
