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Russia: NATO's expansion follows "Cold War logic"
Apr 8, 2008, 16:31 GMT
Moscow - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that NATO's willingness to enlarge eastward had 'nothing positive' about it and followed 'a Cold War logic.'
Lavrov had tough words for the alliance's decision last week to keep its doors open to former Soviet states wishing to join.
'We will do everything in our power to prevent Georgia and Ukraine's acceptance into NATO,' Lavrov was quoted as saying Tuesday in an interview with radio station Ekho Moskvy.
Russia views NATO's expansion eastward as a betrayal and an effort by Western states to persevere in the Cold War policy of containment.
'This enlargement in spirit follows the logic of the Cold War, its spirit of confrontation and its spirit of territorial annexation,' Russia's foreign minister said.
He renewed Russia's protest against NATO's attempt to present itself as an organization promoting democracy.
NATO's readiness to consider Kiev and Tbilisi's bid for membership 'runs counter to its own logic,' Lavrov said, citing protests from Georgia's two separatist regions and very low sympathy in Ukraine for joining the alliance.
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Older Talkback
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The Russian leaders of today are a product of Russian chauvinism, they honestly believe that Russia is entitled to a 'Sphere of Influence' over other sovereign states. They have failed to recognise that their backwards thinking and attitude has caused these nations to look to NATO to provide some kind of deterrence to Russia from meddling in their internal affairs. I expect more nations will become interested in closer ties with NATO in the future and this will continue until the Russians grow up and realise this is 21st century Europe and not 19th century Europe
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SP4: Terrific Sergei...Apr 8th, 2008 - 18:10:40
..except for the glaring facts that you subjugated, by force, these nations for 70(?) years, murdered, persecuted and enslaved their peoples, and the fact that they have no wish to repeat this experience.
Russia is surrounded by potential trading partners, none of which poses a military threat, yet they use energy as a political weapon, bully their neighbors and generally act as bad partners.
So, who are the cold warriors here?
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