Putin: Russia will respond to NATO's expansion
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the practice of decision-making in NATO is a cause for concern. Based on this, Russia will take countermeasures in response to the expansion of NATO.
RIA Novosti reported that Putin said this in an interview for the Oliver Stone film ‘Ukraine on fire’, which premiered on the 21st of November on REN TV.
“Why are we reacting so sharply to NATO’s expansion? We are concerned about the practice of decision-making. I know how decisions are made. When a country becomes a member of NATO, it is already very difficult for it to resist the pressure from such great country, the NATO leader - the United States,” Putin explained.
“Missile defense systems, new bases and, if necessary, a new striking complex. They can appear anywhere. What shall we do? We must take countermeasures. This means that we must aim our own missile systems at objects which, in our opinion, are beginning to threaten us. The situation is annoying,” Putin concluded.
NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said, while at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Istanbul, that the Alliance is strengthening the eastern flank by deploying additional military units as a response to the aggressive actions of Russia in Ukraine.