Intensified drills on Russia’s doorstep indicate NATO is gearing up for major conflict – Moscow’s top general
December 18, 2019, 9:44 am

Intensified drills on Russia’s doorstep indicate NATO is gearing up for major conflict – Moscow’s top general

Latvian army soldiers attend the NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group military drill Integrated Capstone Exercise 20191 in Adazi,

The increased intensity and scale of US-led NATO military exercises in the Baltics and the Black Sea suggest the alliance is preparing for a major military conflict, said General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff.

NATO’s ramping up of large-scale war games in the Baltics, Poland, and the Black Sea region shows that it is gearing up for a major confrontation, Gerasimov said on Thursday, briefing foreign military attaches in Moscow.

Gerasimov pointed out that in addition to flexing its military muscles around Russian borders, the US continues to deploy its anti-ballistic missile systems to Europe, which Moscow considers to be an acute threat to its national security.

Furthermore, there is an ongoing smear campaign about a “Russian military threat” aimed at vilifying Moscow, the general said. Any military build-up attempted by Russia, transparent and defensive, is being spun by Western media outlets and governments as a “threat to peace,” he added.

Russia has not been sitting idly in the face of the US and NATO military build-up and has been developing new cutting-edge weapons that can bypass any existing air defenses. One of them is Kinzhal, an air-launched hypersonic missile. Gerasimov confirmed on Tuesday that the missile had completed a series of tests, including in the Arctic.

When asked if he believes a major war could break out by 2050, Gerasimov said that there are no immediate “prerequisites” for a full-blown war, although the situation is “unstable” due to political, economic and information pressure placed on independent actors such as Russia.

However, he noted that given the current uncertainty in the world, that can change overnight. Taking that into account, it’s essential to calm tensions building up between the West and Russia so the animosity does not lead to dangerous military incidents, Gerasimov said, describing it as “the most important area in the dialogue between Russia and the US and NATO.”

source: Reuters

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