Putin: Russia to counter Nato expansion

"Why are we reacting to Nato expansion so emotionally? We are concerned by Nato's decisionmaking." President Vladimir Putin

RUSSIA: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is warning his forces could target Nato sites if the country feels threatened, sharply raising the stakes against the Western alliance even as United States President-elect Donald Trump calls for greater outreach with the Kremlin.

‘‘We must take counter measures, that is strike with our missile systems the targets that, in our opinion, begin to threaten us,’’ Putin said in an interview with American film-maker Oliver Stone for a documentary.

The documentary on the conflict in Ukraine between proMoscow separatists and the Western-allied government premiered on Russian television yesterday after transcripts of Putin’s remarks were circulated by state-run media.

Putin’s comments were among his sharpest rebukes to Nato as the alliance increasingly focuses on perceived threats from Russia.

Earlier yesterday, Russia announced it has bolstered its defensive missile strength in the Eastern European enclave of Kaliningrad.

For years, the Kremlin has voiced concerns about the membership in Nato of former Soviet republics and countries from the former East Bloc.

Putin said smaller Nato countries would find it ‘‘next to impossible to resist pressure from a major Nato leader such as the United States’’ to deploy missile systems or host new bases.

‘‘And what are we supposed to do? We are forced to take counter measures, that is, to aim our missile systems at those facilities which we think pose a threat to us,’’ he stressed. ‘‘The situation is heating up.’’

Nato, meanwhile, has moved to strengthen its presence along its eastern flanks, including the Baltic states.

But a major wild card has been introduced by the election victory of Trump, who has suggested his administration will seek to improve relations with Russia.

‘‘Why are we reacting to Nato expansion so emotionally? We are concerned by Nato’s decisionmaking,’’ Putin said.

Hours before the broadcast, Russia said it had deployed mobile coastal defence missiles to Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave wedged between Lithuania and Poland.

In October, Putin stationed nuclear-capable cruise missiles in Kaliningrad, further arming a region already bristling with weaponry on both sides.

The growing brinkmanship also extends to defences against possible cyber attacks.

Finland’s undersecretary of state, Jori Arvonen, said yesterday that a joint Nato-European Union centre is planned for Helsinki to study ‘‘hybrid’’ warfare, including cyber espionage and propaganda via social media.

Arvonen said the planned centre seeks to battle online incursions that could be ‘‘diplomatic, military, technological or financial in their nature’’.

US intelligence officials suspect high-level Russian involvement in email hacking targeting Hillary Clinton’s campaign chief and others during the presidential campaign.

Putin has expressed optimism that the election of Trump, who has questioned the US commitment to Nato allies, might improve relations with the US, currently at a post-Cold War low.

On Monday, Putin said in Peru, where he is attending the Apec leaders conference, that ‘‘the US president-elect confirmed his intention to normalise US-Russia relations’’.

Putin also met for what was probably the last time with President Barack Obama, whose relationship with the Russian leader soured over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, its proxy war in Ukraine, and its bombardment in Syria of forces opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.

‘‘I said both of us always treated each other’s positions with respect, although the dialogue between our two countries was rather complicated and sometimes it was difficult to work with each other,’’ Putin said.

‘‘I thanked him for the years of joint work and said we would be glad to see him in Russia anytime if he found it possible or necessary or had a wish to go there.’’ - The Washington Post