Lafontaine sharply criticized Angela Merkel's government for the support of the US policy. He made his statement during a rally in support of peace which took place near the US Air Force base in Ramstein, Germany which Lafontaine called "a symbol of the ongoing US occupation of Germany," the Austrian magazine noted.
"The United States is the oligarchic system aimed at obtaining the world's resources and markets, which the US is trying to take control by military means," Lafontaine said. "Ultimately, the United States seeks to encircle Russia, which becomes obvious to anyone who looks at the map," the politician added.
According to Lafontaine, the US policy is contrary to the interests of not only Germany, but those of the entire European continent.
"Of course, we are interested in a common security system with Russia, and not in the confrontation, which the United States has been seeking in the past few years," Lafontaine stressed, cited by the magazine.
On the US' initiative, NATO has been gradually building up its forces in Europe for over a decade, but has recently undertaken a huge increase in its presence in the Baltic Region and Eastern Europe. In particular, the military alliance is currently carrying out one of the biggest military maneuvers since the Cold War in Poland which involves over 30,000 NATO troops and is aimed at deterring alleged "Russian aggression".
