Russia - NATO relations

Estonian military officer

13 Feb 2024 4 2

Vladimir Putin

Inserted 4 months ago

“Russia has no reason, no interest - no geopolitical interest, neither economic, political nor military - to fight with NATO countries.”

President of Russia

17 Dec 2023 1 2

Dmitry Peskov

Inserted 1 year ago

“NATO is an organisation which is hostile to us and which proves this hostility every day. It is trying its best to make its involvement in the conflict around Ukraine as clear as possible.”

Kremlin spokesman

14 Feb 2023 2 2

Valery Gerasimov

Inserted 1 year ago

“The system of mobilisation training in our country was not fully adapted to the new modern economic relations. So I had to fix everything on the go. Military reforms announced mid-January could be adjusted to respond to security threats. Today, such [security] threats include the aspirations of the North Atlantic Alliance to expand to Finland and Sweden, as well as the use of Ukraine as a tool for waging a hybrid war against our country.”

Chief of Russia’s military general staff

23 Jan 2023 6 2

Dmitry Polyansky

Inserted 1 year ago

“There is an attempt to provoke a direct military clash between NATO and Russia, with all the consequences for the world.”

Head of the permanent mission of Russia to the United Nations

16 Nov 2022 3 3

Anatol Lieven

Inserted 1 year ago

“The Russian navy, surface navy at least, is outnumbered four to one by NATO European members alone and by far more by the American navy - so in terms of numbers, there is no contest. Where Russia is equal to the US is in nuclear weapons, which is why President Putin repeatedly emphasises Russia's missile technology because this is the one area in which Russia is still a superpower. The Russian navy has always been considered to have had a relatively high morale and good commanders but it cannot realistically fight NATO … The only area where the navy is actually in action is in the Black Sea and Russia cannot reinforce the navy in the Black Sea.”

Senior research fellow on Russia and Europe at the Quincy Institute of Responsible Statecraft

31 Jul 2022 7 3

Sergey Lavrov

Inserted 1 year ago

“Finland and Sweden, as well as other neutral countries, have been participating in NATO military exercises for many years. NATO takes their territory into account when planning military advances to the East. So in this sense there is probably not much difference. Let's see how their territory is used in practice in the North Atlantic alliance.”

Russian Foreign Minister

17 May 2022 5 2

Sergei Ryabkov

Inserted 1 year ago

“They should have no illusions that we will simply put up with it. The general level of military tension will rise, predictability in this sphere will decrease. It is a shame that common sense is being sacrificed to some phantom provision about what should be done in this unfolding situation.”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister

16 May 2022 3 2

Sergey Lavrov

Inserted 1 year ago

“The danger is serious, real. And we must not underestimate it. NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war.”

Russian Foreign Minister

25 Apr 2022 4 2

Olaf Scholz

Inserted 2 years ago

“Russia has made the issue of Ukraine's possible NATO membership a casus belli, which is a paradox because there is no decision on this on the agenda.”

Chancellor of Germany

19 Feb 2022 4 5

Russia’s Foreign Ministry

Inserted 2 years ago

“One of the main elements of our initiatives is consciously formulated very clearly and does not allow any ambiguous interpretations. We're talking about the withdrawal of foreign forces, equipment and weapons and other steps to return to the 1997 configuration. These include Bulgaria and Romania.”

Themoscowtimes

Statement by Russia's Foreign Ministry

21 Jan 2022 5 3

Dmitry Suslov

Inserted 2 years ago

“A hypothetical Russian invasion of Ukraine would not undermine the security of the United States. The overall logic of Russian actions is that it is the U.S. and NATO that must pay a high price.”

Nytimes

Analyst in Moscow

16 Jan 2022 4 3

Oleg Ignatov

Inserted 2 years ago

“Russia wants to see Ukraine not as a neutral country, but more like a friendly country. Ukraine is not the only issue of importance for the Kremlin. This is also about how Russia wants to position itself in the world. So this is a geopolitical conflict focusing on Russia's posture and vision.”

Senior analyst for Russia at the International Crisis Group

14 Jan 2022 2 3

Fabrice Pothier

Inserted 2 years ago

“It's very difficult for NATO to do anything which does not protect its own interests and values, obviously starting with the territorial integrity of its allies. NATO can compromise on transparency, how its allies inform each other about military exercises and on positioning certain sensitive weapons systems along borders. But beyond that, NATO will never budge.”

Strategy officer at policy group Rasmussen Global

14 Jan 2022 4 1

Wendy Sherman

Inserted 2 years ago

“If Russia walks away... it will be quite apparent they were never serious about pursuing diplomacy and that is why collectively we are preparing for every eventuality. The heavy pace of bilateral and multilateral engagements this week demonstrates that the United States and our allies and partners are not dragging our feet. It is Russia that has to make a stark choice: de-escalation and diplomacy or confrontation and consequences.”

US Deputy Secretary of State

12 Jan 2022 5 4

Dmitry Peskov

Inserted 2 years ago

“Of course, Russia is concerned over any NATO expansion. NATO is not an instrument of development, it is an instrument of confrontation.”

Kremlin spokesman

12 Jan 2022 4 2

Jens Stoltenberg

Inserted 2 years ago

“There are significant differences between NATO allies and Russia on this issue. Our differences will not be easy to bridge, but it is a positive sign that all NATO allies and Russia sat down around the same table and engaged on substantive topics. The allies had agreed to hold a series of meetings with Moscow on a variety of strategic issues. Russia was not in a position to agree on that proposal. They didn't reject it either, but the Russian representatives made it clear that they needed some time to come back to NATO with an answer.”

Secretary General of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

12 Jan 2022 2 3

Dmitry Peskov

Inserted 2 years ago

“The situation regarding European security and our national interests has reached a critical line. The alliance [NATO] has been conceived as such [as an instrument of confrontation], and it's how it has been organised and is developing now. It's quite obvious, so the expansion of this mechanism poses a threat to us.”

Kremlin spokesman

12 Jan 2022 2 1

Natacha Butler

Inserted 2 years ago

“The two sides' positions have only become even more deeply entrenched … and there are two very opposing viewpoints. It seems that nobody is talking about any great breakthroughs at this stage.”

Al Jazeera’s journalist

12 Jan 2022 2 1

Alexander Grushko

Inserted 2 years ago

“It's no exaggeration to say that a moment of truth is coming in our relations with the alliance. Our expectations are entirely realistic and we hope that this will be a serious, deep conversation on key, fundamental problems of European security. We will push for a concrete, substantive, article-by-article reaction to the Russian draft agreement on guarantees.”