Russia to retaliate if NATO expands eastward

Russia would take appropriate retaliatory measures against NATO's possible eastward expansion, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday.

"I'd stress that the NATO's possible further enlargement eastward would inevitably lead to a very serious military- political shift not only in Europe but also around the world," Lukashevich told reporters.

This would directly affect Russia's national security interests, prompting necessary and appropriate reactions from the country, Lukashevich added.

Moreover, the spokesman warned that the trend of pro-West and anti-Russia attitudes in Kiev authorities could further complicate the bilateral relations between Ukraine and Russia.

"Cooperation in such fields as economy and energy would be obstructed," Lukashevich said.

Moscow is also perplexed by the fact that the abolishment of Ukraine's non-aligned status came right at the moment when positive trends have taken place to settle the Ukraine crisis, Interfax news agency quoted Lukashevich as saying.

"We are convinced that the Euro-Atlantic slant in Ukraine's external and internal policies is unlikely to help bring the country out of a deep internal political and economic crisis," Lukashevich said.

The Ukrainian parliament approved a bill on Tuesday to abandon the country's non-aligned status, paving the way for it to join NATO.

The new law envisages that Kiev is heading for deepening cooperation with NATO "in order to achieve the criteria which are required for membership in the alliance."

The latest move taken by the Kiev government had come under rounds of strong criticism of Russia, warning that the "big mistake" would lead to instability in the region.

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