"All of [Breedlove's] latest statements seem to be aimed at a single goal – to inflict maximum damage to Russia's relations with NATO so that it would be extremely hard to mend them," Sergei Koshelev told Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei (Russian News Service) radio station.
Gen. Philip Breedlove has been an outspoken critic of what some call Russia's "assertive" foreign policy and has repeatedly warned that Moscow poses a threat to the US and Europe. Russian officials and experts from Russia and elsewhere have long said that these claims have no merit.
In addition, Breedlove has long urged to increase the US military presence in Europe to counter Russia. For its part, Moscow has repeatedly said that it is the bloc's increased war-games and anti-Russian rhetoric that could be detrimental to European security and stability.
Stars and Stripes newspaper described Breedlove as having "taken on a more prominent role than previous EUCOM/NATO commanders" when it came to commenting on Russia and the bloc's response to Moscow's policies.
"Along NATO's eastern flank, those pronouncements have been taken as a signal of solidarity and reassurance. Critics, however, say Breedlove's hard line on Russia has sometimes been too bellicose," the media outlet noted.
NATO's next supreme allied commander, US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, is expected to succeed Breedlove this spring.
NATO-Russia relations deteriorated in 2014 over Crimea's reunification with Russia and Moscow's alleged role in the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Russia has always denied any involvement in the Ukrainian civil war and has made every effort to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means.
