Russia freezes its mission with NATO on espionage business background

Moscow reproaches the Atlantic Alliance His ambition to expand on his borders by integrating Ukraine and Georgia within it.

Le Monde with AFP

This is a new illustration of the strong tensions that have been opposing Russia and Westerners for several years between sanctions, crossed evictions of diplomats, charges of electoral interference, espionage and cyber attributes attributed to Moscow.

Russia announced Monday, October 18 suspend its mission of representation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and that of NATO in Moscow after withdrawal at the beginning of October by the Alliance accreditations of eight Russian emissaries, accused of espionage.

Russia criticizes the Atlantic Alliance its ambition to extend to its borders by integrating Ukraine and Georgia into its bosom, the former Soviet republics it considers to be still part of its Sphere of influence. “Following certain measures taken by NATO, the basic conditions for a common work are no longer there,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday, stating that these decisions would take effect the 1 ^er November.

In detail, Russia will indefinitely suspend its mission to Brussels with the Western Military Alliance, as well as the NATO mission received by the Belgian Embassy in Moscow. The latter is to liaise between the Atlantic Alliance in Brussels and the Russian Ministry of Defense

m. Lavrov also announced “End the activity of the NATO Information Office”. The latter is defined by the Alliance as a mission to “improve knowledge and mutual understanding”.

Since 2014 and the annexation of the Crimea by Russia, “NATO has already greatly reduced the contacts with our mission. On the military side, there has been no contact since then”, justified the chief Russian diplomacy.

“Malicious activities”

He assured that NATO was “not interested in dialogue and equal work”. “We do not see the need to claim that any change is possible in the foreseeable future,” he said.

In case of “urgency”, the Alliance will be able to contact the Russian ambassador in Belgium again, “said Lavrov. These ads occur after elegant accusations of espionage.

In early October, NATO had announced withdrawing their accreditation to eight members of the Russian mission in Brussels, accused of being “undeclared Russian intelligence agents”. And the secretary general of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, had in the wake of Moscow of “Malicious” growing activities in Europe.

Russia had taken note of feeling that NATO, founded in 1949 by the opponents of the Soviet Union, had demonstrated its refusal to normalize relations.

The Skripal case in the canvas of background

NATO had already decided in March 2018 to withdraw their accreditations from seven members of the Russian mission and to expel them from Belgium following the UK poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent , and his daughter Iulia.

The number of accreditations of Russia’s mission in Brussels was then reduced from 30 to 20. October 7, 2021, this number had yet been lowered and reduced to 10.

Despite strong tensions, the High Russian military command has repeatedly met since 2014 in third countries of NATO or pentagon military leaders.

In February 2020, the Russian Head of Valeri Guerassimov had thus maintained in Azerbaijan with the supreme commander of NATO in Europe, the American General Tod Wolters. In September 2021, Mr. Guerrassimov had met with his American counterpart, Mark Milley, Helsinki, Finland, after a previous interview in December 2019.

/Media reports.