Moscow-Sana
The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the anti-Russian statements of British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, stressing that they aim "to justify the aggressive policy of his country and NATO towards Moscow."
TASS quoted ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying today, in response to the British minister's statements: “London continues to use baseless accusations to pressure Russia and try to maintain anti-Russian sentiment in British society ... and the ultimate goal is clear to justify the aggressive policy of NATO in general and Britain. Especially towards us ”.
Zakharova stressed that Russia has fully fulfilled its obligations to destroy chemical weapons stockpiles, which were fully completed three years ago and under the auspices of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, expressing astonishment and surprise from Moscow over Wallace's statements about what he called "Russia's provocative behavior," noting that NATO did not fulfill its promise not to move east with The expansion of NATO units continues.
She added that the military infrastructure of NATO is approaching the Russian borders, multinational units are spreading in the Baltic region, advanced centers for heavy weapons are being established in Europe and the intensity of training is increasing in addition to modernizing the military infrastructure and increasing the military budgets of the alliance countries, pointing out that this creates preconditions for the outbreak of accidents and increases From exacerbating the already complex situation on the continent, she said, "We are forced to respond to mitigate emerging threats to our security ... This is a legitimate right of any sovereign state."
And Zakharova considered that the British minister's statements confirm London's position on "the unwillingness to objectively discuss the accumulated problems and disagreements through professional dialogue."
The British Defense Secretary had recently claimed in an interview with the Telegraph newspaper that Russia's actions were "worrying" due to the increase in Russian activity in "British territorial waters and British airspace."