“Russian-NATO relations are undoubtedly worrying right now, it would seem forgotten, but the deficit of mutual distrust has quickly returned and there’s probably a triumph in mutual mistrust. We have recorded very unfriendly activities by the Alliance in increasing its potential on our borders and we believe that these activities of the Alliance pose a threat to our national interests and national security of Russia,” Peskov told journalists.
Peskov said that NATO’s latest activities confirm the Alliance is incapable of adapting to today’s conditions and holds to its primary intentions of “restraining the Russian Federation and remaining in confrontations with the Russian Federation.”
“We have undoubtedly always been backers of dialogue, and in line with this of course, we can only express satisfaction that such dialogue will continue, although one can probably say immediately that this dialogue is not the easiest because trust is destroyed very quickly and renewing it takes much longer,” Peskov said.
The NATO-Russia Council was created in 2002 as a mechanism for consultations and cooperation between NATO member states and Russia on a wide range of security issues.
The format was suspended in 2014 amid strained relations over the Ukrainian crisis, as the alliance accused Moscow of the involvement in the conflict.
Russia has repeatedly dismissed the allegations of meddling in Ukrainian affairs and stressed that NATO's military expansion and increased presence near Russian borders undermines regional security.
