Photo: REUTERS/ Ints Kalnins

The Kremlin views such statements as an escalation of the alliance's confrontation with Russia, said the presidential press secretary. MOSCOW, November 24. The Kremlin views statements about the possibility of creating a "military Schengen" within NATO as an escalation of the alliance's confrontation with Russia. Such intentions increase tensions in Europe, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Asked whether the Kremlin views the statement by the head of the NATO Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC), Lieutenant General Alexander Solfranko, regarding the need to create a "military Schengen" within NATO, as a risk of armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Europe, or as an escalation of the alliance's confrontation with Russia, Peskov emphasized that "the latter is more likely."

"The alliance has always considered our country a potential adversary. Now, it considers our country a clear adversary. This is nothing more than an escalation of tensions in Europe, which has its consequences," said the Kremlin representative.

Peskov noted that Europe is abstracting itself from the principle of indivisible security, and that the expansion of NATO cannot lead to retaliatory measures by the Russian Federation.

(TASS/JaV)