Russia opposes new NATO-like military blocs in the world – Putin

Moscow believes the creation of new military blocs along the lines of NATO after the Second World War is a bad idea, and attempts to do so in Asia are alien to the region and its interests, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

“Our concept is not to create new blocs along the model of Europe or the North Atlantic after the Second World War,” Putin said on Thursday, during the debates at the 16th Valdai Discussion Forum in Sochi. 

Asked about the possibility of a new military alliance in Asia – presumably referring to US efforts for some kind of Indo-Pacific partnership against the rising influence of China – the Russian president said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is working for the needs of the region just fine.

Putin said called the attempts to create some kind of a bloc organization that is not aimed at cooperation with others “alien to Asia in general and the current state of affairs in Asia.”

He believes many states of the region do not want to join military blocs aimed against anyone, but wish instead to create cooperation so they can seek compromises in areas of mutual interest.

“Find them, and move ahead together,” said Putin. “They don’t want to get sucked into confrontations between some governments, and least of all participate in any blocs.”

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