Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference that due to some measures taken by NATO, the basic conditions for joint action are no longer available.
He explained that these decisions, which are considered by observers as a “diplomatic divorce”, between Moscow and NATO, will begin to be implemented in early November, or it may take a few more days.
“The activities of the NATO Information Office in Moscow, which was established at the Embassy of Belgium, have been terminated,” Lavrov added.
“If NATO members have any urgent issues, they can contact our ambassador in Belgium, who conducts bilateral relations between Russia and the Kingdom of Belgium on these issues,” Lavrov added.
Moscow’s decisions come against the backdrop of the deportation of eight members of its mission to NATO earlier, accused by the alliance of espionage.
And last Wednesday, NATO announced reducing the number of accredited members of the Russian diplomatic mission to it, which was established two decades ago to help promote dialogue and cooperation in common security areas, from 20 to 10 people, and expelling 8 Russians on charges of being undercover intelligence officers.
The new turmoil between “NATO” and Russia comes after shifts in the relationship of the two parties during the past months, as the level of tension between the two parties has risen since the beginning of this year, due to increased speculation and references to the possibility of Ukraine joining the alliance system, which is rejected by Russia and considered as a red line that cannot be transcend it.
But things have returned to calm during the last three months, after the two sides announced the possibility of positive cooperation inside Afghanistan, to achieve a kind of stability that protects the national security of both sides.
There is a state of uncertainty in the world, amid quarrels between Russia and NATO, between threats of escalation and attempts to calm down, which has produced conflicting scenarios about the fate of relations.
many reasons
Tariq Fahmy, professor of international relations, said that what is happening is not a freeze, but of course the relationship is strained as a result of two things, the first of which is the determination of the administration of US President Joe Biden to push the relationship between NATO and Russia to the edge of the abyss.
Fahmy added, in statements to “Sky News Arabia”, that the second issue is related to the sanctions imposed by the US administration, which naturally affected the orientations of Western countries and the alliance countries on relations with Russia.
He explained that there are a number of issues in dispute between the two sides, most notably the “Iranian nuclear file”, the “Syrian file”, the “definition of human rights security”, the “conflict in the Caucasus and the Crimea” and the “Afghan file” recently.
He continued, “Therefore, there are a number of issues related to the alliance’s dealings with Russia, and then Moscow wants to say that it is not a weak country and that it can maneuver in the course of the relationship with the alliance in its American and European versions.”
He pointed out that “it is not true that the Russians are adopting a European approach to the alliance at the expense of the American approach.”
NATO problems
He pointed out that the alliance is going through a difficult stage and faces many problems even within the framework of US-European relations, as Biden is repeating what his predecessor, Donald Trump, said that the Europeans must pay the price for their defense.
He noted that the alliance is a burden on American policy and Russia wants to issue a continuous crisis within it, and this comes in parallel with the American focus on the Afghan file, Asia and China, which gives a large space for the other parties to maneuver.
Zero Scenario
On the impact of what is happening on the alliance, Fahmy said that NATO suffers from a structural defect in its main structure and tasks according to the US administration and in many complex files, and another part is that Russia is maneuvering in an attempt to strike the alliance from within, meaning that it is trying to build alliances outside the scope of the alliance.
He stressed that the Russians are escalating significantly, but they will not be able to get outside the scope of the alliance
Rather, it is a strong message aimed at putting pressure on Europe and America.
He explained that the coming period will witness military rivalries, but there will be no withdrawals from the security agreements and there will be no “zero scenario” through a direct clash, since Moscow has its major accounts with European security and will not abandon it, and the alliance countries will not be able to continue striking Russian policies and interests in the Caucasus. and the Asian region.
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