'NATO not ensuring security in Europe, no reason for it to exist': Top Russian Diplomat

Amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission, Roman Babushkin on Friday said that there is no reason for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to exist, stating that the institution is not ensuring security in Europe.

In an exclusive conversation with Republic TV, Babushkin said, "NATO is trying to resolve its biggest issue of identity because after the Cold War, there's no reason for it to exist. What they are trying to do is give birth to some purposes...NATO is not ensuring security in Europe. It is impossible without Russia."

Babushkin said that the expansion of NATO is an existential threat to Russia. "Under the US leadership, it can deploy missiles in the immediate proximity to the Russian borders, conduct military exercises, deploy nuclear weapons in non-nuclear space."

"Russia has no reason to invade Ukraine. Our troops in the border are deployed at our own territory due to the nature of escalated activities in Ukraine," Babushkin added.

'Russia has no plans of invading Ukraine': Babushkin

Roman Babushkin further said that the President Vladimir Putin's administration has 'no plans' to invade Ukraine as was being claimed by the United States. "Russia has absolutely no plans of invading Ukraine. Our troops at the border area are in our territory and absolutely on legal grounds," said the Russian Embassy's Deputy Chief Of Mission.

Watch interview here:

US President Joe Biden had earlier said that he would make it 'very, very difficult' for Russia to take military action on Ukraine as US intelligence determined that the Kremlin is planning an invasion that could begin as early as this year.

Tensions between Russia and the United States of America - generally considered one of the biggest simmering divides in the world - are at an escalated state. The election of Joe Biden into the White House has seen a significant pick-up in the American rhetoric against Vladimir Putin and Moscow has not backed off from posturing aggressively on the boundaries with Ukraine. As has been the case for decades, the two Cold War rivals have generally refrained from being involved in direct conflict with each other, and this time as well, they're working through their respective coalitions.

Babushkin underlined that Russia's defence budget is 20 times less than that of the US, and asked, "Who is in a better position to intimidate?"

"The West intimidates itself with the mysterious Russian threats that do not exist. This is the only way how the diversified West can be consolidated and can be kept under the American leadership even at the expense of the economic interest," he told Republic Media Network.

Russia-Ukraine tensions

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been running high for the past few months since Moscow amassed around 100,000 troops near Ukraine's border, rousing fears of an invasion. Meanwhile, Russia has asserted that it has no plans to attack and rejected US' demand to vacate its forces, saying it has the right to deploy them wherever necessary.

Moscow has demanded security guarantees from the West that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other erstwhile Soviet nations, and roll back the alliance's military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. Washington and its allies have rejected to provide such a pledge but said that they are ready for talks.

Image: Republic World