The blocs influence has expanded across the continent and is extremely negative, the Russian foreign minister has said

NATO's continued expansion and efforts to turn Eurasia into its "fiefdom" is a matter of serious concern for Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Speaking at a security conference in Minsk, Belarus, the chief diplomat ridiculed the bloc's insistence that it is a "purely defensive alliance."

According to Lavrov, NATO has been "artificially expanding its zone of responsibility far beyond the Euro-Atlantic region" by hijacking the idea of "the indivisibility of Euro-Atlantic security and the so-called Indo-Pacific region." The bloc's efforts to spread into Asia are being carried out with "the obvious goal of containing China, isolating Russia, and confronting the DPRK [North Korea]," he added

Lavrov noted that NATO has also been spreading its influence to other regions of Eurasia, including the Middle East, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and South Asia. "Everywhere, they're trying to gain a foothold," Lavrov said, adding that in most cases this influence proves to be "extremely negative" due to the bloc's "aggressive policies."

"A reasonable question arises: if this is the general trend, do we want our entire vast, beautiful continent to be turned into NATO's fiefdom? We cannot agree with this," Lavrov stressed.

The minister also raised concerns over NATO's plans to intensify activities in the Arctic, stressing that Russia, as well as other "sensible countries," would like to see the region as a territory of peace and cooperation.

Responding to continued claims by Western leaders of a supposed threat posed by Moscow, Lavrov reiterated that Russia has no intention of attacking any NATO country and is willing to legally commit to this in future security guarantees.

At the same time, the minister stated that the West is openly preparing for a "new great European war" while EU leaders "proudly" declare that any future security guarantees should be signed "not with Russia's participation, but against Russia."

EU and NATO elites have adopted a policy of isolating anyone who pursues an independent policy based on national interests and common sense, Lavrov claimed, adding that "as a result, there is no prospect of meaningful dialogue with the majority of these elites in Europe."

(RT.com)