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A direct clash between Russia and NATO could happen within the next ten years and the country must be prepared for it, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov has said.<\/p>\n
He was speaking at a meeting of top defense officials in Moscow on Monday, which was chaired by commander-in-chief, President Vladimir Putin. Belousov said the Russian military had executed its tasks in the Ukraine conflict and elsewhere this year against the backdrop of a\u00a0\u201ctough struggle with the collective West.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moscow\u2019s ongoing standoff with the US and its allies\u00a0\u201ccontinues to intensify and expand,\u201d\u00a0he warned.<\/p>\n
In such conditions, one of the main goals for the Russian Defense Ministry\u00a0\u201cis ensuring full readiness for any development of the situation in the medium term,\u201d\u00a0the minister said.<\/p>\n
This includes\u00a0\u201ca possible military conflict with NATO in Europe in the next decade,\u201d\u00a0he added.<\/p>\n
Belousov made it clear that such a clash would be provoked by the US-led military bloc, and not Moscow.<\/p>\n
The possibility of such a conflict is\u00a0\u201cindicated by the decisions that were made at the NATO summit in July. This is also reflected in the doctrinal documents of the US and other NATO countries,\u201d\u00a0he explained.<\/p>\n
He noted that NATO was currently switching to a new combat readiness system that is expected to allow it to deploy a 100,000-strong grouping along Russia\u2019s western borders within ten days, a 300,000-strong grouping within a month, and a 800,000-strong grouping within 180 days.<\/p>\n
In the final declaration of its summit in Washington, NATO member states pledged to continue supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. The document blamed Moscow for seeking to\u00a0\u201cfundamentally reconfigure the Euro-Atlantic security architecture.\u201d\u00a0The bloc\u2019s members also described Russia as\u00a0\u201cthe most significant and direct threat to allies\u2019 security\u201d\u00a0that\u00a0\u201cwill persist into the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his speech at the same meeting, Putin said the US was seeking\u00a0\u201cto weaken our country and inflict a strategic defeat\u201d\u00a0on Russia by continuing\u00a0\u201cto pump a de facto illegitimate ruling regime in Kiev with weapons and money, sending mercenaries and military advisers, thereby encouraging further escalation of the conflict.\u201d\u00a0Washington\u2019s strategy is to deliberately\u00a0\u201cpush us to the red line\u201d\u00a0and, when Moscow begins to respond, use it to\u00a0\u201cfrighten their population,\u201d\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n