PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st April, 2021) KAMCHATSKY, April 1 (Sputnik) - Russia and China do not need a military alliance like NATO as the relationship between Moscow and Beijing are completely different, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
"There is often speculation that Russia and China may conclude a military alliance. Firstly, one of the documents at the highest level emphasized that our relations are not a military alliance, we are not pursuing this goal. We see a military alliance in its classical understanding on the example of NATO, we do not need such an alliance," Lavrov said, when speaking on the political talk show "The Big Game" on Russia's Channel One.
The Russian top diplomat added that NATO-like military alliances represent the Cold War-era.
"Such an alliance is an alliance of the Cold War era. I would now think in terms of the modern era, when multipolarity is being formed. In this sense, our relationship with China is completely different from that of a classical military alliance. Maybe they are even closer in a certain sense," Lavrov added.
Lavrov also said that Western officials who talk with China and Russia from the position of strength or with insults are "worthless politicians and strategists". At the same time, the Russian foreign minister said that Moscow and Beijing will not resort to provocations in response to sanctions imposed against them by the West.
