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Meeting of the Russian Public Council: Russia and NATO
On April 3, 2019, a meeting of the Russian Public Council on International Cooperation and Public Diplomacy was held at the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, with the theme: “Russia-NATO Relations: Current Development Trends.”
Alexander Viktorovich Grushko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and former Russian representative to NATO, delivered the keynote speech.
After the collapse of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, the meaning of the existence of the North Atlantic Alliance disappeared. Nevertheless, the Alliance survived and on April 4 it celebrated its 70th anniversary. By admitting former members of the Warsaw Pact, NATO moved closer to Russia’s borders. The new members of the Alliance, the Eastern European countries, began to have a serious influence on NATO policy, especially with regard to Russia, driven by Russophobic and revanchist aspirations.
The formats and programs of the Russia-NATO partnership established in the mid-1990s and early 2000s were suspended after the reunification of Crimea with Russia in 2014. Recently, the divergence between the old and new Europe, members of the Alliance, on which the U.S. is successfully playing to advance its interests, has been intensifying.
In February 2019, NATO supported the U.S. decision to suspend its obligations under the Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missile Treaty and strengthened its “deterrence and defense” capabilities. At the same time, at the official level, NATO states that it remains a platform open to dialogue and does not seek confrontation and does not pose a threat to Russia.
The meeting discussed whether there is a possibility of easing tensions between Russia and NATO!
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