Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Says NATO Trident Juncture Drills Aimed Against Russia

NATO Trident Juncture-2018 military exercises off Norwegian coast are anti-Russian in their nature, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Thursday on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona, Italy.

VERONA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2018) NATO Trident Juncture-2018 military exercises off Norwegian coast are anti-Russian in their nature, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Thursday on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona, Italy.

Earlier in the day, Trident Juncture 18 started in Norway and surrounding areas of the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, including Iceland, and the airspace of Finland and Sweden. The drills are involving around 50,000 military personnel from NATO member states and its partners. The exercises will last until November 23.

"There are no doubt that they [NATO drills] are anti-Russian, and we must also take this into account in our military planning .

.. It's good that in recent years special attention has been paid to the strengthening of our military potential, and today Russia has various options for choosing the most optimal military and technical response to threats that may be of completely different nature," Grushko said.

On Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the scale of NATO's operations and combat training next to Russia's borders had been expanding, citing Trident Juncture 18 as an example.