By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the NATO as a throwback to the Cold War era, and said it should be transformed into a political organisation as soon as possible.
“It is incomprehensible why it’s still around,” Putin said.
He said Russia would like the NATO to stay within the bounds of its statutory activity and not strive for global status.
Russia has been and will continue to be concerned by NATO expansion, Putin said.
“Talk is one thing, but the deployment of some attack systems or missile defence systems near our borders is quite a different matter,” he said.
“This poses genuine threats to our territory. Needless to say, in that case we will have to build our defence policy accordingly so as to neutralize these threats,” he said.