Russia won't be lectured by NATO - Lavrov

[Joanne98]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been briefing the media in Moscow. He stated that the Russia-NATO council was created 'not for the purpose of disciplining Russia or educating it in terms of how it should behave.'

Lavrov said that the council's goal is to help solve large-scale problems in the European region (WATCH the media conference).

"We think that all these problems remain urgent, and everything depends on our partners here. The principle we follow in the council is 'one side - one vote', this is not an kind of organisation where NATO supersedes Russia."

The Foreign Minister also commented on Georgia's plan of entering NATO.

"In general, my impression is that the membership plan and this entire policy of drawing Georgia into NATO is not so that Georgia should meet NATO standards, it's just anti-Russian policy, supporting an aggressive regime in Georgia".

http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29231

[Selatius]

1. Why does NATO still exist after the USSR and the Warsaw Pact dissolved?

That was my big question in the 1990s, and I guess I'll have to revive it this decade.

Imagine how much of a liability NATO would be to European countries if Georgia was a NATO member when it sent troops into Tskhinvali and the rest of South Ossetia. There would be a major confrontation between Europe and Russia, not to mention the US. If the worst happened, it would be a continent-wide war, probably one the US would get sucked into as well.

You'd think people would learn the lessons about the disadvantages of military alliances from World War One.