Russia to Respond to NATO Attempts to Bring Conflicts to Black Sea

NATO is trying to move confrontational schemes to the Black Sea and Russia will take measures to neutralize potential threats, Russian Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko said Monday.

He added that the tendency for the deterioration of the relations between Russia and NATO still continued since the alliance kept the strategy of "containing" Russia despite its own calls for political dialogue.

"Today, NATO is trying to move confrontational schemes to the Black Sea. Recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the transformation of the Black Sea into the 'Russian lake' was not acceptable," Grushko told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta in an interview.

"But everyone in NATO knows that the Black Sea will never become a 'NATO lake,' and we will take all necessary measures in order to neutralize possible threats and attempts to exert pressure on Russia from the south."

Since 2014, NATO has been building up its military presence in Europe, particularly in eastern European countries bordering Russia, using Moscow's alleged interference in Ukraine as a pretext for the move.

Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims and warned NATO that the military buildup on Russia’s borders is provocative and could harm regional and global stability.