Russia, China countering NATO buildup: Duma head
A leading Russian lawmaker says the promotion of relations between Russia and China is a response to the US and the NATO’s military expansion in Europe.
Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Russian State Duma, the lower house of the parliament, made the remarks on Sunday in a post on his Twitter account.
“The United States and NATO have spent the past two decades redrawing the world to suit their interests. The alternative alliance between Russia and China comes as a response to the Western alliance’s expansion,” said Pushkov.
The remarks by Pushkov came as President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping signed on May 8 a deal on cooperation in integrating the development of the Eurasian Economic Union with China’s Silk Road economic project.
Putin emphasized at the time of the signing that the Silk Road initiative would boost trade and infrastructure development in Central Asia, as well as the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.
“The integration of the Eurasian Economic Union and Silk Road projects means reaching a new level of partnership and implies a common economic space on the continent,” Putin said.
The developments comes as Moscow is seeking to diversify its markets amid US-led Western sanctions over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
NATO expansion in Eastern Europe
The strengthening of Russia-China ties come as the Western military alliance has announced plans to expand its military presence in Eastern Europe amid the crisis in Ukraine. NATO conducted some 200 military exercises last year in the region last year and has promised to hold additional ones this year.
In February, the defense ministers of NATO’s 28 member states agreed to establish six new command and control posts in the Eastern European countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.
NATO also decided to set up a new headquarters in western Poland to support northeastern member states as well as a similar site in Romania for members in southeastern Europe.
The United States and its European allies accuse Russia of destabilizing Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly rejected the accusations and has frequently condemned NATO’s exercises and military buildup toward its borders.
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