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News > Russia

Russia Suspends Its Permanent Mission To NATO

  • The North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. | Photo: Twitter/ @TRTWorldNow

Published 18 October 2021
Opinion

"The aggressive approach of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to Russia confirms that this alliance is not interested in any joint work," Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

On Monday, Russia’s government suspended its permanent mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which on Oct. 6 revocated the accreditation of eight Russian diplomats for alleged espionage. The NATO information office and military liaison in Moscow will be also dissolved from Nov. 1 because of these unproven allegations.

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“If the NATO urgently needed to contact Russia, our embassy in Belgium would assist it," Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov stated, adding that Moscow no longer believes that a change in its relations with the Atlantic bloc is possible.

“In the last six years, the NATO has limited the number of employees of the Russian mission in Brussels to ten. The level of bilateral dialogue and cooperation has also dropped. This situation confirms that this organization is not interested in any joint work or dialogue on equal terms,” Lavrov insisted.

Previously, the NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg stated that his organization had to act against the growing Russian "evil activities." He, however, did not link the decision to expel the Russian representatives to any particular event.

"The approach of this alliance to our country is getting more aggressive. The 'Russian threat' swells to strengthen the internal unity of the NATO to create the illusion that it is necessary for the current geopolitical conditions," Russian diplomats insisted.

Moscow also accused the Atlantic Alliance of expanding its military infrastructure ever closer to its borders since Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania recently incorporated into this organization.

The NATO claimed that this initiative seeks to strengthen the security of countries close to Russia following the 2014 annexation of Crimea to this Eurasian nation.

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