Putin Speaks of NATO’s Relations with Former Soviet States

In an interview with the France 3 television station on May 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that NATO’s relations with Georgia and Ukraine do not irritate Moscow, but he can not understand how their membership can contribute to security in the world.

“I think NATO already has influence over many of our partners, including Ukraine and Georgia. This fact does not irritate us. Russia itself develops relations with NATO and even has created a Russia-NATO Council… But if we speak about NATO’s expansion at the expense of these [former Soviet] states, than this is another thing,” President Putin said.

“We think that the technical expansion of NATO does not improve the situation in the world, in respect to strengthening security… I do not understand how this kind of technical expansion, at the expense of our Baltic neighbors, can contribute to larger security. In fact, we will have a similar approach to this issue if other former Soviet states also become members of NATO,” the Russian President stated.

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