(Newswire.net — October 18, 2014) — During the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel have declared that US armed forces “must deal with a revisionist Russia – with its modern and capable army – on NATO’s doorstep.”
However, during a State Department briefing on Friday, an AP journalist suggested that it would be more logical to say that “NATO has moved closer to Russia’s borders.”
“Is it not logical to look at this and say – the reason why Russia’s army is on NATO’s doorstep, is because NATO expands,” journalist Matt Lee said.
“That’s the way President Putin probably looks at it, it’s certainly not the way that we look at it,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby in response to the journalist’s question.
“NATO is not an anti-Russia alliance, it is a security alliance.” Kirby said, emphasized that “It wasn’t NATO that was ordering tons of tactical battalions and army to [the] Ukraine border,” but disregarding that the Ukraine is neither a NATO member, nor will Russia ever allow that. Why? Because installing NATO missiles on the Russian Federation border is the same issue as President Kennedy nearly declared a war on SSSR back in 1962, when Khrushchev tried to install missiles in Cuba.
Though he eventually admitted that NATO has expanded, Kirby added that “NATO is not an anti-Russia alliance, it is a security alliance.” However, in the light of half a century ‘anti-Soviet’ focus of the alliance it is fair to say that Russians could understandably perceive NATO’s expansion as a threat.
“I’m not going to pretend to know what goes in President Putin’s mind or Russian military commanders…I mean, I barely got a history degree at the University of South Florida,” Kirby joked, dodging the question, but brutally revealing his competence on a matter.
When Kirby continued to analyze Russia’s moves around Ukraine, Psaki cut in, saying that “other countries feel threatened,” and urged the conversation to move on.
Relations between Russia and NATO have been tense since the alliance accused Russia of becoming involved in the Ukrainian conflict – a claim Russia has continuously denied.
Following Crimea’s accession to Russia in March, the US and Europe hit Moscow with sanctions which backfired at European countries that has significant trade with Russian federation.
Further more, NATO significantly increased its military presence near Russia’s borders, especially in Poland and the former Soviet Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, allegedly concerned of the potential Russian incursions into their territories.