ATHENS (Sputnik) – Stoltenberg on Saturday gave a speech at the Munich Security Conference in which the strive for "more constructive and cooperative relationship with Russia" was stressed. At the same time, the NATO chief called for a reinforced military presence in Eastern Europe in response to a "Russian threat."
"Stoltenberg in his speech put forward a formula of relations with Russia, which, in my opinion, is not feasible. He talked about the need for more intimidation and more dialogue. If NATO is to go the way of more intimidation, the dialogue will not be possible," Pushkov said Monday at a press conference in Athens.
All relations between Russia and the Alliance were suspended in 2014 amid stained tensions over the Ukrainian crisis, as NATO accused Moscow of the involvement in the conflict.
Russia has repeatedly dismissed the allegations and stressed that NATO's military expansion and increased presence near Russian borders undermines regional security.
