Moscow warns of retaliation for TO eastward expansion

Moscow, December 2: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peksov said on Wednesday that the continuous eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (TO) will lead to retaliatory measures from Russia. “TO’s military infrastructure to the east, cannot but lead to retaliatory measures from Russia in terms of ensuring security interests and supporting the parity of interests,” Peksov commented on TO’s decision to invite Montenegro to join the military alliance, Xinhua reported. Earlier in the day, TO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the decision was not about Russia, nor directed at any third-party country. In response to Stoltenberg’s remarks on the possible resumption of TO-Russia Council’s work, Peskov said he had not heard of the specific statement and was uware of any movements toward this. The TO-Russia Council was created during the 2002 TO Summit in Rome as an official diplomatic tool for handling security issues and joint projects between TO and Russia, yet was suspended in 2014 as tensions rose between the two sides when Russian troops moved into Crimea. (IANS)