Russia to take every measure to neutralize NATO’s threats near its borders

Russia will make a proportionate response to any threat that may emerge near its borders, Russia’s permanent envoy to NATO, Alexander Grushko, said in a Moscow-Brussels teleconference.

“In terms of defence, not only political considerations are taken into account, but also potentials that might be deployed along our border,” he said. “We have been able to see that NATO is making a U-turn and trying to ensure its security by projecting force to Russia.”

“In our military planning, we will bear in mind the emergence of new potentials along our borders and take measures to ward off any threat stemming from the deployment of these potentials,” he said.

“The principle difference of the situation is that until today security of Central and Eastern European countries has been ensured not by means of deploying forces, foreign contingents there, not by means of deploying [elements] of the missile defence system that directly undermine strategic stability,” Grushko said.