Russia accuses NATO of increasing its military presence in Central and Eastern Europe.

　　Information: On May 19th, 2016, in Sochi, Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zacharova answered a reporter’s question at a press conference. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Bai Xueyu)

　　Xinhuanet Beijing, July 11th The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 10th, accusing the leaders of NATO member countries of actually "demonizing" Russia in their decision to increase their military presence in Central and Eastern Europe. The Russian side said that Russia "does not pose any threat at all" to Central and Eastern Europe.

　　The NATO summit ended in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, on the afternoon of the 9th, and the meeting approved the plan to deploy four battalions of multinational forces in Poland and the Baltic countries. The United States, Germany, Britain and Canada will assume the leadership responsibility of stationing troops in Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia respectively. The garrison plan will be implemented next year.

　　In this regard, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman maria Zacharova said: "Contrary to the goal of maintaining peace and stability in Europe, & HELIP; … NATO is concentrating on dealing with threats from its east that do not exist at all. "

　　The statement said that NATO’s actions against Russia are actually "to justify its military expansion in Europe and distract the attention of the outside world from the destructive role played by this organization in international conflicts."

　　NATO has been acting frequently in recent times. On May 12, NATO’s anti-missile system in Deveselu in southern Romania was officially put into operation; On the 13th of that month, the infrastructure construction of the land-based Aegis anti-missile system deployed in the northern Polish city of Renzikovo started. In the middle and late May, Poland and the three Baltic countries held joint military exercises.

　　[Russian side wants to say]

　　Agence France-Presse quoted NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as saying on the 10th that the leaders of NATO member countries "agree" on the Russian issue, and "the unanimous message is that the relationship between NATO and Russia is based on defense and dialogue".

　　On July 9, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attended the NATO summit in Warsaw. (Xinhua/Reuters)

　　However, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier previously said in an exclusive interview published in the media that NATO’s decision to deploy multinational forces in the three Baltic countries and Poland was a "mistake" that should have been avoided, and exaggerating the Russian threat and exaggerating the hostile atmosphere did not help improve regional security.

　　Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Zacharova told reporters on the 10th that Russia intends to ask NATO to explain its decision to increase its military presence in Central and Eastern Europe and Finland’s air defense in the Baltic Sea at the NATO-Russia Council meeting on the 13th.

　　In an interview with DPA on the 10th, Steinmeier said that he welcomed the NATO-Russia Council to be held next week, because "it will be transparent enough to explain the decision of the Warsaw Summit to Russia and hold a serious and continuous dialogue with Russia".

　　(Reporter Du Fu)