AUKUS Formation to Trigger Response of Regional Countries, Moscow Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The creation of strategic alliances similar to AUKUS will not be left without a response of all the regional countries to the potential threats, and each of the states will decide on its own reaction, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large, Grigory Mashkov, said in an interview with Sputnik.

"Its framework provides for the use of the territory of a non-nuclear state [Australia] for the deployment of military infrastructure of nuclear states. This can create potential risks of destabilizing the situation in the field of international and regional security ... I will also note that the formation of such strategic alliances will inevitably lead to a response from all the participants of the regional stability formula. The exact response is a national prerogative of each country ... I am sure that this issue will be thoroughly analyzed at the interdepartmental level in Moscow and appropriate measures will be taken to ensure our regional interests and the national security," Mashkov said.

Moscow is thoroughly assessing the possible consequences of the AUKUS formation, the diplomat noted.

AUKUS was announced in mid-September and spurred backlash from the European Union, especially from France, which lost a multi-billion dollar contract on supplying submarines to Australia.

Under the new deal, Australia will obtain US technology to develop its own nuclear submarines, sparking concerns about the future of the non-proliferation regime in the region.