Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused NATO of starting tensions near China in a way that posed risks for Russia.
“The South China Sea is now becoming one of those regions where NATO is not averse, as they once did in Ukraine, to escalating tensions,” Lavrov told a news conference.
“We know how seriously China takes such provocations, not to mention Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait, and we understand that NATO’s playing with fire in these regions carries threats and risks for the Russian Federation. It is as close to our shores and to our seas as Chinese territory,” he said.
Lavrov said that is why Russia was developing military cooperation with China and conducting joint exercises.
“The fact that NATO members under the leadership of the United States are trying to create an explosive situation there, in the wake of Europe, is well understood by everyone,” he said.Lavrov did not provide evidence to back his assertions.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says big problems had accumulated in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), accusing the West of spurning the chance to make the European security watchdog a natural bridge with Russia after the Cold War.
Lavrov made the comments at the start of a news conference, during which he aired out Russian historical grievances against the West, saying the “reckless enlargement” of NATO had devalued the basic principles of the OSCE.
Ukraine has also been critical of the OSCE, saying Russia should be removed from it following its invasion.
It also objected to the title of an event at a meeting of OSCE foreign ministers in the Polish city of Lodz that referred to the organisation being at a crossroads.
