Russian Official: NATO eastward expansion would be 'catastrophic'

NATO eastward expansion would be 'catastrophic': Russian official

NATO enlargement into Ukraine and Georgia would have "catastrophic consequences" for Europe, Russia's envoy to NATO warned Tuesday in a television interview, as relations between Moscow and the West sink to Cold War-era lows. "Any political game concerning NATO expansion into Georgia and Ukraine is…

AFP

NATO eastward expansion would be 'catastrophic': Russian official

1 hour ago

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Tanks drive during a NATO Response Force exercise in Zagan, southwest Poland on June 18, 2015 (AFP Photo/Janek Skarzynski)

Moscow (AFP) - NATO enlargement into Ukraine and Georgia would have "catastrophic consequences" for Europe, Russia's envoy to NATO warned Tuesday in a television interview, as relations between Moscow and the West sink to Cold War-era lows.
"Any political game concerning NATO expansion into Georgia and Ukraine is filled with the most serious, most profound geopolitical consequences for all of Europe," Russia's permanent representative to NATO, Alexander Grushko, told LifeNews television channel.
"I hope that people in Brussels and other capitals fully understand the danger of this game, the danger of the cards some forces are still trying to play. This would have catastrophic consequences," he told the Russian channel.
Grushko added that NATO expansion would be catastrophic for Ukraine as well, where a conflict has pitted pro-Moscow rebels against Ukrainian troops since last year.
Moscow's annexation of Crimea last March and the subsequent violence in eastern Ukraine have strained Russia's already tense relations with NATO, and each accuses the other of meddling in the affairs of the former Soviet country.

Grushko accused NATO of raising an "Iron Curtain" in Europe by deploying troops and holding military exercises near its eastern border, a move the military alliance said was aimed at deterring Moscow.

Earlier this year, NATO agreed to boost its defences with six command centres in eastern Europe and a spearhead force of 5,000 troops. The organisation also said it would hold continuous military drills in the region.

On Sunday, Russia announced a new naval doctrine to counter what it called "inadmissible" attempts by NATO to move military infrastructure close to Russia's borders.

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NATO eastward expansion would be 'catastrophic': Russian official

Communication will be important at all stages to avoid a nuclear catastrophe between NATO and Russia regarding borders in Eastern Europe.

It is obvious that NATO makes Russia nervous and also made the Soviet Union nervous between World War II and 1990 when the Soviet Union Collapsed as well.

So, it is important to understand where Russians are coming from regarding all this. We all know in the west where NATO and the U.S. are coming from in all this. But, how many people understand the point of view of Russia in all this?

Russia is very disappointed in it's plight since the end of the Soviet Union in some ways. This is why belligerence towards the U.S. and NATO exists. Whether this is real or just a self inflicted wound (or both) is debatable. But, never the less they are still the most nuclear armed nation on earth right alongside of the U.S. And they and the U.S. (even individually) could nuke the whole world completely out of existence (each of them alone) without the other doing anything. 

So, how Russia feels about things is very important to the continued existence of Earth and all life living upon it. And the same is also true about the U.S. and China too.