East European security depends on cooperation, not NATO - envoy
BRUSSELS. May 14 (Interfax) - NATO's security vigilance in Eastern Europe demonstrating its determination to protect the allies is totally counterproductive from the stronger security point of view, Russian Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Alliance Alexander Grushko said.
In his opinion, these measures "escalate tensions and undercut predictability."
"We are surprised at how assured NATO is about being the sole provider of security of its members. Yet, obviously, security does not depend on NATO, [it depends on] normal relations with neighbors, cooperation, interaction and many other non-military factors," Grushko said in a statement released in Brussels on Tuesday night.
The diplomat recalled that article V of the North Atlantic Treaty (regarding collective defense), which alliance representatives quoted, had been activated only once, after the events of September 11, 2001.
"But it seems some states wish to play the role of "front states" which have to be protected from who knows what and whom. This status will not make them safer, but the appearance of new sites on their territories may add to risks to their own security," the head of the Russian diplomatic mission to NATO said.
