Foreign Ministry-'No Room For NATO In Multipolar World'

Wires carrying comments from Russian Foreign Ministry spox Maria Zakharova. Claims that "NATO has returned to a Cold War midset in relations with Russia". Zakharova: "There is no room for NATO in a new multipolar world, but the bloc will remain in our focus". The rhetoric from figures in Russia surrounding (alleged) NATO actions continues to escalate, with Reuters reportingcomments from Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a military hardliner and close ally of President Vladimir Putin. Speaking to a Russian paper, Patrushev claimed that NATO is, "...de-facto a party to the Ukrainian conflict and is actively involved in organising the shelling of Russian territories,"

• Zakharova also made the claim that, "Actually, the EU mission in Armenia is being transformed into a NATO mission." Since Azerbaijan retook the contested Nagorno-Karabakh province in 2023, Yerevan has increasingly signalled a lack of trust in Russia - an erstwhile backer of the Armenians - and sought to deepen relations with the EU. Such open talk from Russia of NATO being involved in Armenia will raise further concerns about Moscow's potential actions in the South Caucuses.
• Zakharova also confirms that Foreign Minsiter Sergey Lavrov is set to soon visit China for talks with his counterpart Wang Yi, where they "will discuss issues of bilateral cooperation, work in the UN , BRICS , SCO , G20, as well as a number of hot topics, including the Ukrainian crisis and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region."