Russian Defense Minister warns NATO against deploying troops near Russia’s borders
NATO is pulling forces to Russia's borders amid calls for military deterrence, said Russian +Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said in response to German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
"The Defense Minister of Germany should know well wow this has already ended before for Germany and Europe. Security in Europe can only be common, without infringing on Russia's interests. But NATO is not ready for an equal dialogue on this issue today,” Shoygu said.
In Afghanistan, according to Shoigu, the world is dealing with the catastrophe that the military alliance's deterrence plan has led to.
Kramp-Karrenbauer spoke about the strategy of deterrence against Russia the day before. She said that NATO should show Russia its readiness to use military means in response to threats to the alliance. The German Defense Minister warned that no one should even think about attacking NATO members in the Baltics or the Black Sea.
In April, Kramp-Karrenbauer said Russia’s actions threaten the security of Europe. She pointed out that, in her view, Russia's policies represented "an illiberal, anti-democratic opposition to the West." The minister also mentioned that Russian missile systems "can reach Germany," which, according to her, violates existing arms agreements. Der Spiegel clarified that Kramp-Karrenbauer was referring to the Iskander missile systems located in the Kaliningrad region.
Russia, in turn, stated that NATO is not interested in equal dialogue and joint work. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Shoygu spoke out after the alliance reduced the number of Russia's permanent mission in early October. In response, Moscow decided to completely suspend the work of the permanent mission, as well as the activities of the military communications mission and the NATO information office in Russia.