NATO Expansion Since Putin's 2007 Munich Speech Pushed Russia to Edge - Peskov

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2022) NATO's continued expansion in the years since Russian President Vladimir Putin warned it in 2007 against pushing toward his country's borders has driven Russia to the edge as far as its national and security interests go, the presidential spokesperson told Sputnik.

"The cumulative effect of this expansion has grown and festered, forcing Russia � to put it in the words of our president � to the edge of its red lines as far as national and security interests are concerned," Dmitry Peskov said.

Putin said at the Munich security conference that NATO sending battlegroups to eastern Europe "represents a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust." The deployment raised the question of whom this buildup was aimed at, he added.

Fifteen years on, this question still preoccupies Russian policy-makers, Peskov said during an interview timed to the anniversary of Putin's Munich speech. The spokesman said it had not been answered yet.