NATO ‘obsessed with acquiring Balkans’ – Russian FM

NATO wishes to continue its expansion into the Balkan region and is “obsessed with the idea of acquiring” it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Bulgarian magazine “Foreign Affairs.” The diplomat also stressed that the alliance is going to turn the Balkans into a new “front of confrontation in Europe,” while it issues ultimata to the countries in the region to be “either with Moscow, or with Washington and Brussels” and undermine Russia’s historical ties there. Meanwhile, NATO is incapable of countering “the main modern challenge” – terrorism – but still justifies its existence using Cold War logic aiming to deter Russia, according to Lavrov.