USA (bbabo.net), - The North Atlantic Alliance has had a partnership with Russia for almost 20 years, says the head of the NATO Military Committee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer.

“We have tried to communicate with Russia as a partner for almost 20 years,” he said in an interview with Latvian television, TASS quotes.

However, according to Bauer, after the events of 2008 and 2014, the military bloc’s attitude towards Russia changed, “this influenced NATO’s military plans,” including strengthening the alliance’s presence on the eastern flank.

As reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized that “it was not Russia that was moving towards the borders of NATO countries, but they came close, we are only protecting our people.” “If a security system had been built in Europe after the collapse of the USSR, there would have been no SVO,” the head of state pointed out.

On March 6, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova once again noted at a briefing that Russia is not planning and has never planned an attack on anyone, including NATO. She pointed out that in the doctrinal documents of the alliance, “the collective West declared Russia a direct threat,” this speaks of aggression, which is the basis for the perception of the Russian Federation.

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