NATO’s declared readiness to work with Russia doesn’t reflect its actual policy – diplomat

NATO’s declared readiness to work with Moscow on easing tensions in bilateral relations does not reflect its actual policy toward Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko said on Thursday. “NATO representatives say all the time that they are not seeking confrontation with Russia, that they are ready to work on de-escalation with us,” Grushko, who is Russia’s former envoy to NATO, told TASS. “But steps currently being made by NATO show that those statements cannot be treated as reflecting actual policies,” he said, adding that new decisions are made, which are “intended to step up NATO military capabilities on the eastern flank.” The diplomat said, however, that Moscow is open for dialogue, especially “via bilateral channels with separate members of the alliance - for example, with the Baltic states.”