Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, announced that the country is suspending diplomatic ties (NYT) with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after NATO expelled eight Russian diplomats from its headquarters in Brussels. NATO officials said the diplomats were undeclared intelligence officers.
The move comes as tensions rise between Russia and the bloc, with each blaming the other for “aggression” (AP) in official statements. Russia is also forcing NATO’s offices in Moscow to close. Lavrov said that for urgent matters, NATO can liaise with the Russian ambassador (Moscow Times) in Belgium.
Analysis
“The decision will end a post-Cold War experiment, never very successful, in building trust between Russia and the Western alliance,” the New York Times’ Andrew E. Kramer writes.
“Today, the Russian military is at its highest level of readiness, mobility, and technical capability in decades. NATO remains superior on paper, but much is contingent in war, and NATO’s apparent superiority does not guarantee victory or the ability to deter Russia across the range of possible conflicts,” the Center for a New American Security’s Michael Kofman and Andrea Kendall-Taylor write for Foreign Affairs.
