Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin confirmed Tuesday that the United States and NATO are attempting to transform the Central Asian region into a bridge to threaten Russia’s southern border.
Addressing the Third Central Asian Conference, Galuzin said that the United States and NATO are trying to engage the Central Asian States in so-called partnership programs and training courses, they do not stop demanding the resumption of joint exercises in the region and the deployment of their military infrastructure.
It is clear that all these efforts are aimed at containing Russia, separating the region from our country and gradually turning it into a bridge head to threaten our southern border, he added.
In turn, Director of the Third CIS Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Alexander Sternik declared that the United States does not hide its dissatisfaction with Central Asian countries’ deep ties with Russia.
Speaking to Sputnik News, Sternik said that the current events have shown the EU’s lack of independence in choosing its regional strategy, noting that its goals and techniques are to ‘clone’ American facilities.
Source: Qatar News Agency