NATO Preparing for New Wars, Drills in Europe Increase Tensions - Russian Security Council
© AP Photo / Czarek SokolowskiUS troops, part of a NATO mission to enhance Poland's defence, are getting ready for an official welcoming ceremony in Orzysz, northeastern Poland, Thursday, April 13, 2017
© AP Photo / Czarek Sokolowski
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MAGAS, Russia (Sputnik) - NATO is preparing for new wars, and drills conducted by the alliance in Europe increase tensions in the world, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Thursday.
"The joint drills of NATO armed forces in Europe called Steadfast Defender 2024, during which the scenario of armed confrontation with Russia is being worked out, will certainly increase tensions and destabilize the situation in the world," Patrushev said during a meeting on security in North Caucasus.
NATO plans to increase its presence in the Arctic and Asia-Pacific, Patrushev added.
"Over the 75 years of its existence, NATO, as a supposed guarantor of peace and democracy, has started more than a hundred wars and military conflicts around the world — and is preparing for new ones," Patrushev said.
In recent years, the North Atlantic alliance had particularly disregarded Moscow's offers related to NATO and the US, which aimed to provide security assurances. These proposals included an agreement that would enforce a mutual commitment from both Russia and NATO to refrain from positioning troops, ships, or aircraft in proximity to one another.
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In addition, Moscow requested an immediate halt to NATO's expansion towards Russia's borders, emphasizing the importance of abstaining from inviting post-Soviet countries into the bloc or deploying military infrastructure on their territories.