"On @NATO’s 70th birthday, we would like to wish the alliance inner peace and less nervousness. We hope it avoids focusing on obsessions and phobias," she tweeted.
#Zakharova: On @NATO’s 70th birthday, we would like to wish the alliance inner peace and less nervousness. We hope it avoids focusing on obsessions and phobias #NATO70 pic.twitter.com/vzS9ILZKoy
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) 4 апреля 2019 г.
Foreign ministers from 29 NATO countries are meeting in Washington this week to celebrate the alliance’s anniversary. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in an opening address on Thursday, cited alleged "Russian aggression" as an emerging threat.
Russia has repeatedly accused the US-led bloc of illegally expanding eastward in Europe in violation of its promises. NATO has been building up its military on Russia’s eastern flank, pulling troops to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in 2017, while US warships have been routinely calling on Black Sea ports.