Russia suspends its mission to NATO, says country’s Foreign Minister

Sergei Lavrov said that the move is in response to last week's expulsion by NATO of eight members of Russia's mission to the military alliance

October 18, 2021 06:06 pm | Updated 10:16 pm IST - Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also announced that NATO's military liaison and information offices in Moscow would be closed. File

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also announced that NATO's military liaison and information offices in Moscow would be closed. File

Russia's Foreign Minister said on Monday that the country is suspending its mission to NATO .

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the move is in response to last week's expulsion by NATO of eight members of Russia's mission to the military alliance.

Also read: NATO chief hits out at Russia's 'malign activities'

NATO said that they were secretly working as intelligence officers and halved the size of Moscow's team able to work at its headquarters.

Mr. Lavrov also announced that NATO's military liaison and information offices in Moscow would be closed.

"As a result of NATO's deliberate moves, we have practically no conditions for elementary diplomatic work and in response to NATO's actions we suspend the work of our permanent mission to NATO, including the work of the chief military envoy, probably from November 1. Or it may take several more days,” Mr. Lavrov said.

He also said that contact between the Western alliance and Moscow could be done through the Russian embassy in Belgium.

The Russian mission isn't based at NATO's headquarters, but in a leafy neighbourhood in the south of the Belgian capital, Brussels.

NATO suspended practical cooperation with Russia in 2014 after it annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, but has kept channels open for high-level meetings and for military-to-military cooperation.

Also read: NATO vows to support Ukraine, warns Russia on troop buildup

But the NATO-Russia Council, their preferred forum, has only met sporadically since then.

Russia and NATO also have been at odds over Moscow's nuclear missile development, aerial intrusions into NATO airspace and the buzzing of allied ships by fighter planes.

Official talks between them have been limited in recent years.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.