Russian Ministry of Defense assessed NATO activity near the country's borders
27 December 2020
“In 2020, the alliance's aviation and navy activity significantly increased. More and more situations that can lead to serious incidents are arising,” Mr. Fomin said in an interview to the Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
He recalled that in May 2020, on the eve of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Victory in the Barents Sea, exercises of a detachment of warships of the NATO united naval forces took place. Then, in August and September 2020, more than 15 flights of American strategic bombers were recorded in the immediate vicinity of the Russian border.
Those and similar episodes, he said, were openly of a provocative nature. “We managed to avoid incidents only thanks to the high level of professional training of Russian pilots and sailors,” the deputy minister emphasized.
He also noted that he would not advise conducting a dialogue with Russia from a "position of strength". “Along with the fact that the threat of force is a direct violation of the UN Charter, such actions will not remain without an appropriate response from our side. We have always assumed that the most difficult problems must be resolved at the negotiating table. We are ready for a professional constructive dialogue in compliance with the principles of mutual respect and consideration of each other's interests", Mr. Fomin said.
Text: Ksenia Pen'kova
Source: https://vz.ru/news/2020/12/27/1077818.html