After two decades of trying to build a partnership with Russia, the Nato alliance now feels compelled to start treating Moscow as an adversary, an official has said.
Alexander Vershbow, the deputy secretary-general of Nato, said: "Clearly the Russians have declared Nato as an adversary, so we have to begin to view Russia no longer as a partner but as more of an adversary than a partner."
He said Russia's annexation of Crimea and its apparent manipulation of unrest in eastern Ukraine have fundamentally changed the Nato-Russia relationship.
"In central Europe, clearly we have two different visions of what European security should be like," said Mr Vershbow, a former US diplomat and Pentagon official.
"We still would defend the sovereignty and freedom of choice of Russia's neighbours, and Russia clearly is trying to re-impose hegemony and limit their sovereignty under the guise of a defence of the Russian world."
In April, Nato suspended all "practical civilian and military cooperation" with Russia, although Russia has maintained its diplomatic mission to Nato, which was established in 1998.
Mr Vershbow said Nato, created 65 years ago as a bulwark against the former Soviet Union, is considering new defensive measures aimed at deterring Russia from any aggression against members along its border, such as the Baltic states that were once part of the Soviet Union.Read the rest of the story HERE.
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