NATO’s plans to hold military manoeuvres in Ukraine are jeopardising the fragile peace process in the conflict-torn eastern regions of the country, Russia’s envoy to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Monday.
“NATO’s recent summit vividly demonstrated the strategy of interference in the affairs of foreign states and the desire to gain military dominance in Europe in defiance of the agreements on the importance of building equal and indivisible security in Europe, which have been repeatedly reiterated at all levels,” Andrei Kelin said at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council.
He said NATO had embarked on a path of moving its infrastructure eastward and building up its military presence near the Russian border.
“These plans were prepared for a long time, and the Ukrainian crisis just provided the pretext for beginning their implementation openly,” Kelin said.
He said the essence and tone of the statements on the situation in Ukraine and the announced plans of joint military in the country “will inevitably escalate tensions, jeopardise the fragile progress in the peace process, and further divide Ukrainian society”, Kelin said.