MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The "Leave NATO Now" protest started in the morning, with opponents of NATO membership demanding an immediate withdrawal from the Alliance, as well as an end to "provocative" expansion toward Russian borders and the deployment of Aegis ballistic missile defense systems (BMDS) in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Turkey and Spain, according to Topnovini.
The NATO summit is taking place in the Polish capital on July 8-9. On Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the summit that the alliance would strengthen its military presence in Eastern Europe on a rotational basis with four battalions in Poland and in the Baltic nations.
Since 2014, NATO has been building up its military presence in Europe, especially in Eastern European countries neighboring Russia, using Moscow’s alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict as a pretext. Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims and warned NATO that the military buildup on Russia’s borders is provocative and threatens the existing strategic balance of power.
