Russian Defence Minister: we are forced to respond to NATO expansion
Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu says that Russia is concerned by the active involvement of Georgia and Ukraine in NATO exercises.Photo:documentarytube.com.
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Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu says that the expansion of NATO military potential “destroys” the existing world security system and forces Russia to take responding steps, Shoygu said at a recent meeting in the Russian defence ministry.
NATO has increased the scales and intensity of its exercises twice, in which Georgia and Ukraine, non-NATO member countries, are more and more frequently involved. Such behavior destroys the current world security system,” he said.
Shoygu also condemned NATO activity in the Baltic States.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin told Fox News last year that Russia would react "extremely negatively” to the membership of Georgia and Ukraine in NATO.
Next month Georgia will host NATO-Georgia joint exercises.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is also expected to come to Georgia at the end of March.
Georgian Defence Minister Levan Izoria is taking part in the NATO two-day foreign minister in Brussels, assembled to discuss pressing security issues, including Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and to review NATO peace missions.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says that North Macedonia’s accession into NATO means that the alliance door remains open to countries that meet the alliance’s standards and which adhere to NATO values of democracy.
For the first time Georgia will take full responsibility for the planning and the execution of the NATO-Georgia joint military exercise which will be held in March near Tbilisi with the participation of 22 NATO member states and allies, Georgian Defence Minister Levan Izoria told journalists today.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin told Fox News on Monday that Russia would react "extremely negatively” to the membership of Georgia and Ukraine in NATO.
Georgian Defence Minister Levan Izoria has praised Georgia-US cooperation at the 16th Batumi International Conference adding more rotational military exercises with involvement of NATO countries are planned in Georgia. Izoria said that Georgia is preparing for another three-year cycle of cooperation to ‘increase Georgia’s self-defence capacity.’