Russia to Raise Issue of NATO's Risky Course to Deter Moscow at OSCE

Russia is planning to discuss NATO's dangerous policy aimed at political and military deterrence of Russia, which is seen in military buildup and intensive drills next to Russian borders, at the informal OSCE ministerial meeting in Austria's Mauerbach, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov will participate in informal ministerial meeting, which will be held on Tuesday at the initiative of Chairman-in-Office and Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz. The meeting will be held under the motto "Building Trust through Dialogue and Co-operation."

"It is anticipated that the critical situation in the European security sphere will be a key focus of attention. [Russia] is determined to raise the issue of NATO's dangerous policy on military and political deterrence of Russia, which is manifested in building up military presence and infrastructure in border regions next to Russia, increasing intensity of military exercises involving the alliance's partner states. Most of exercises have anti-Russian attitude and provocative nature," the document read.

The Ministry also noted, that Moscow is "determined to draw the participants' attention to lopsidedness of the OSCE activities, its thematic and geographic imbalance."

The annual OSCE Ministerial Council will take place on December 7-8 in Vienna.