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NATO Secretary General: We regret Russia's decision, which does not promote dialogue and mutual understanding"

20 October 2021 19:35 (UTC +04:00)

Earlier this week, Russia announced the closure of its mission to NATO, and of our offices in Moscow. We regret this decision, which does not promote dialogue and mutual understanding, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at press conference, APA reports.

But NATO’s policy remains consistent, and we remain open to dialogue, including through the NATO Russia Council. At the same time, we will continue to assess how we can further strengthen our deterrence and defence. We will ensure we have the right plans, capabilities and forces in place to protect our nations. We will also review progress in our response to the challenge from Russia’s nuclear capable missile systems.
In 2018, NATO Allies determined that Russia had developed and deployed missiles in breach of the INF Treaty, which led to the demise of the treaty. And since then, Russia has further increased its arsenal of missiles, and is developing hypersonic systems. These missiles pose a real threat to security in the Euro Atlantic area', noted Jens Stoltenberg.