Abroad|Security policy
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the termination of the NATO mission. Earlier in October, NATO announced the expulsion of eight Russian “intelligence officers” from the Russian NATO mission.
Russia closes its NATO mission and defense alliance offices in Moscow, news agencies Reuters and AFP said on Monday.
Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov announced the cessation of the NATO mission. Earlier in October NATO announced that it had expelled eight Russian “intelligence officers” from the Russian NATO mission.
At the same time, NATO said it had reduced the number of accredited Russian personnel in the mission to ten, compared to 20 in the past.
Russian The purpose of the NATO mission, the Russia-NATO Council, is to increase cooperation between the country and the Defense League. The mission does not mean that Russia is part of NATO.
The decision on the number of accredited employees will take effect at the end of October.
“After certain NATO measures, there are no longer any basic conditions for working together,” Lavrov said on Monday, according to AFP.
“NATO is not interested in a balanced dialogue and working together,” Lavrov said according to Reuters.
According to Lavrov, the Russian NATO mission in Brussels will cease to exist around the beginning of November.
Moscow has had a NATO office at the Belgian Embassy in Moscow since 2002 and a NATO Information Office since 2001. According to Russia, both will be closed.
According to him, NATO could be in contact with Russia on urgent matters through Russia’s ambassador to Belgium.
Naton previous decisions on deportations were based on deadly explosions in the Czech Republic, according to AFP, in which two Russian spies were suspected of involvement.
No meetings between NATO and Russia have been held since 2019.
Russian the announcement was responded to during the afternoon.
According to Reuters, NATO said it had noticed Lavrov’s announcement but had not yet received official notice of the changes announced by the foreign minister.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas noted that the Lavrov statement further aggravated the worrying situation.
Reuters said Maas said Germany has sought dialogue with Russia in NATO, but now it must be said that Russia no longer seems willing to do so.
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