MOSCOW (Sputnik) — First deputy chairman of the Federation Council’s defense committee Yevgeny Serebrennikov said Russian diplomats must keep working to "contain" NATO's expansion towards Russia's borders.
Serebrennikov told RIA Novosti:
"Despite the extremely difficult situation in relations between Moscow and NATO, primarily due to NATO’s large-scale expansion near Russia's borders, our diplomats need to continue their work to contain the alliance, and to resolve the crisis in Ukraine.”
#NATO is using #Ukraine to advance towards #Russia n Borders — http://t.co/XIkfUJoU2Z — #OWS #US #EU #Europe #UN — pic.twitter.com/BrHZKl5qP5
— MariusJacob (@cachu) 8 Март 2015
Oh no. Russia must have demanded the end to hostile Nato expansion on its borders. @BBCBreaking pic.twitter.com/TEnPiHQDcV
— J.R. (@_2nd_Opinion) 12 февраля 2015
The senator’s comments come after Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said earlier in the day that all the positive aspects of Russia’s relations with NATO had collapsed amid the Ukraine conflict.
"The deputy minister represents the field of international cooperation. And if all developments have collapsed, I believe we should continue our work."
Relations between Russia and NATO have deteriorated over the past year, with the alliance accusing Moscow of providing militia in Ukraine’s eastern breakaway regions with military assistance. Russia has repeatedly denied the claims.
NATO has also been increasing its presence near Russia’s borders, causing concern in Moscow. In his Saturday interview, Antonov described the alliance’s activities as “unprecedented and unjustified”.
In February, NATO announced that its Rapid Response Force would be increased from 13,000 to 30,000 military personnel, and six new command posts would be created in states close to Russia.
