Russia: Current NATO alliance 'enough' no need for Middle East version

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Russia on March 2, 2021 [Russian Foreign Ministry/Anadolu Agency]

The existing North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) alliance is “enough”, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said yesterday, commenting on recent calls for establishing similar bodies in the Middle East and Asia.

“I really hope that the international intense hostility towards Iran recedes,” Lavrov told reporters, adding that this would open the door for “negotiations”.

The Russian official stressed that he was against the idea of establishing NATO alliances in the Middle East and Asia.

There have been numerous discussions about a Middle Eastern equivalent of NATO, in particular as a result of the division between its member states’ views on Iran and the nuclear deal signed with it.

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