NATO seeks to draw in new anti-Russia forces: Analyst

Press TV has interviewed Fred Weir, a journalist and political commentator in Moscow, to discuss recent military exercises held by NATO members in Europe, while Russia prepares to celebrate World War II Victory Day.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Sir, give us your thoughts on the recent military exercises being carried out by NATO members.

Weir: Well, most of this is not routine. I mean we have always had routine military exercises every year, big organizations get together dozens of times a year to hold war games and so on. It is not just that this takes place amid a political crisis, a very serious one over Ukraine, but that it is drawing in new energies, new forces. For instance, Sweden will be cooperating for the first time with the anti-submarine exercises, although Sweden is not a member of NATO.

There is a political dimension to this, in other words the... or PR dimension if you prefer. The idea is to ramp up the sense of crisis and to try to draw more forces, more energies into NATO and its role as a bulwark against Russia... supposedly newly aggressive Russia. So there is a ratcheting effect going on and these war games are definitely party of it, and this crisis is spiraling upwards.

Press TV: What kind of response are you expecting to see from Moscow?

Weir: Well, they will complain, have complained. They will say all the things that are said, because this is not the first time... this is not new and has been going on for months and months; this ratcheting up of tensions. But of course Russia right now is completely absorbed in the Victory Day celebrations, which will happen in a few days. There will be a very big, huge military parade across Moscow. We have rehearsals going on right now with all the new Russian equipment, new Russian tanks, and armored vehicles, new fighter plane; this fifth generation fighter plane. So this I think is all connected as well. This is a huge day for Russia. Western leaders are boycotting this military parade and all this... I mean this military games in the Baltic and the North Sea are probably a part of that.

MTM/MKA

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