NATO: Russia Now an ‘Enemy’

Local Editor

NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow now says that the allied group has been compelled to treat Russia "as more of an enemy than a partner," according to an Associated Press report published on Thursday.

Vershbow made the remarks to a group of reporters on Thursday, saying that, "Clearly the Russians have declared NATO as an adversary, so we have to begin to view Russia no longer as a partner but as more of an adversary than a partner."

He reportedly told journalists recently that Moscow's role in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine has forced NATO to reconsider the alliance's opinion on Russia, and that additional troops may soon be mobilized to the region as tensions worsen.

Vershbow reportedly told journalists also that the alliance is now considering new measures meant to counter any future acts of aggression on the part of Russia aimed at partner nations, and soon could deploy a larger number of combat forces to Eastern Europe.

Journalists reporting for Civil.Ge wrote on Thursday that Vershbow told the audience at a panel discussion in Washington, DC one day earlier that NATO should deploy "defensive assets to the region."
"We need to step up our support for defense reforms and military modernization of Russia's neighbors, and not just of Ukraine, but also Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan," Vershbow said, according to the Civil Georgia site.

NATO should think about "upgrading" joint exercises among partner nations, the site quoted Vershbow as saying during the event, while acknowledging that deploying forces to Georgia would be a "controversial" maneuver.
Recently, the US Air Force commander in charge of NATO's military presence in Europe said that US troops may soon be deployed to the region as tensions continue to worsen near the border between Ukraine and Russia.

Tensions between Russia and the West heightened after Ukraine's former Black Sea peninsula of Crimea joined the Russian Federation following a referendum on March 16.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team