NATO should not fuel tensions with Russia: German FM

Germany’s foreign minister has censured war games by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Eastern Europe, saying such drills will not bring security to the region and will rather stoke tensions with Russia.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier made the remarks in an interview with the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper, whose extracts were published on Saturday.

“What we shouldn’t do now is inflame the situation further through saber-rattling and warmongering,” Steinmeier said, adding, “We are well-advised to not create pretexts to renew an old confrontation.”

NATO launched the Anakonda-16 maneuver on June 7, simulating a Russian attack on Poland. The two-week-long exercise involves some 31,000 troops, dozens of ships and fighter jets, along with 3,000 vehicles.

“Whoever believes that a symbolic tank parade on the alliance’s eastern border will bring security, is mistaken,” Steinmeier said.

He further called for more dialogue and cooperation with Russia, warning that it would be “fatal to now narrow the focus to the military.”

NATO is expected to send units to Romania as part of plans to expand its presence in Eastern Europe.

In another development on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again criticized NATO’s eastward expansion, warning that there would be consequences if the Western military alliance continued its one-sided policy against Moscow.

SS