Russia’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a “useless” military alliance, as the bloc’s summit enters its second day in Brussels.
Concern about Russia’s “provocative military activities,” including recent missile deployments in its westernmost region, were a central topic at the NATO summit on Wednesday.
“Russia’s recent activities and policies have reduced stability and security, increased unpredictability, and changed the security environment,” the bloc said in a public statement. The Western allies added that they “stand in solidarity” with the British assessment that Russia was to blame for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain.
In response, the Twitter account of Russia’s foreign ministry said they would be turning their attention to the World Cup instead of NATO’s allegations.
“While the useless #NATO military bloc accuses us of provocative activities and continues to grind its teeth in Brussels, we’re getting ready to watch #WC2018,” the ministry tweeted.
Russia continues to host the World Cup football tournament until July 15, when France will square off with Croatia in Moscow for the right to win the World Cup trophy. Both countries are members of NATO.
Reuters contributed reporting to this article.
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