DISINFO: NATO is encircling Russia's borders and creating an enemy image of Russia
DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
  • Outlet: RT Germany - YouTube (archived)*
  • Date of publication: December 06, 2019
  • Outlet language(s): German
  • Reported in: Issue 176
  • Countries / regions discussed: Russia
Tags:
West EU/NATO enlargement NATO

DISINFO: NATO is encircling Russia's borders and creating an enemy image of Russia

SUMMARY

We do not see a movement towards mutual security, but a movement in the opposite direction. The architecture of strategic stability is destroyed, and the security space is divided into individual fragments. One tries to replace the international legal system by the so-called ‘rule-based order’, the foreign policy (interests) formulated by a small group of Western countries. NATO has expanded in several waves – it wants to be the source of legitimacy. Its military infrastructure has already reached Russia’s borders and NATO has intensively expanded its military potential in Eastern Europe, increased its arms spending to record levels and at the same time created an enemy image of Russia.

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about NATO threatening Russia. NATO is not encircling Russia. Russia's land border is just over 20,000 kilometres long. Of that, less than one-sixteenth (1,215 kilometres), is shared with NATO members. Russia has land borders with 14 countries. Only five of them are NATO members. Also, NATO has reached out to Russia consistently, transparently and publicly over the past 26 years. The Alliance created unique cooperation bodies – the Permanent Joint Council and the NATO-Russia Council – to embody its relationship with Russia. It has invited Russia to cooperate on missile defence, an invitation extended to no other partner. Bilateral agreements between the US and host nations do not allow missile sites to be used for any purpose other than missile defence.

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Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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