Russia slams NATO, EU’s 'confrontational approach' by inking Joint Declaration

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday responded to the Joint Declaration inked by EU-NATO, stating that the Western military alliance is just an instrument used to fulfill US interests.

"Contrary to all their OSCE obligations, they view security in the Euro-Atlantic area through the prism of standing up against Russia," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement. She slammed the West for supplying weapons and equipment to Kyiv, adding that the EU's goals involve enhancing military mobility in the European “theatre of war,” and continuing NATO’s expansion.

Russia hits out at NATO, EU’s confrontational approach

Moscow hit out against NATO’s and EU’s confrontational approach, and their self-centered foreign policies, stressing that they have been making attempts to divide the world into “us and them". This approach will only hinder the "peaceful settlement of conflicts" and will weaken international security against the challenges of terrorism, as mentioned in the declaration, Kremlin noted. 

America’s motives "are crystal clear", stated Russia's Foreign Ministry in a statement. "They want to pull the EU into the 'geostrategic competition,' as it is described in the declaration," the latter claimed, adding that Europe "will play the role of America’s vassal, rapidly ceding its political and economic positions and hence becoming increasingly more dependent on the United States."

On 10th January, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, as well as the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met at NATO Headquarters and signed the third Joint Declaration on NATO-European Union cooperation. NATO and EU pledged to resolve growing geostrategic competition, resilience issues, and the protection of critical infrastructures.

"Other priority areas of work will include emerging and disruptive technologies, space, the security implications of climate change, foreign interference, and information manipulation," the EU and NATO announced in a joint statement. 

NATO's Secretary General underlined that the Joint Declaration “recognises the value of a more capable European defense that contributes positively to our security and is complementary to, and interoperable with, NATO”. The former noted that NATO-EU cooperation is significant in terms of changing the security environment after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

NATO-EU partnership “will become even more important once Finland and Sweden become full NATO members, and with their accession, NATO will be protecting 96% of the citizens in the European Union, and a higher share of its territory than ever before," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, stressed.