President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia is concerned about the build-up of NATO’s military infrastructure near its borders, as well as the fact that the alliance is reluctant to constructively consider proposals to de-escalate tensions, but it still expects common sense to prevail.

“Of course, we are concerned about the ongoing build-up of NATO’s military potential and infrastructure near the Russian borders, as well as the fact that the alliance refuses to constructively consider our proposals to de-escalate tensions and reduce the risk of unpredictable incidents. We expect that common sense and the desire to develop constructive relations with us will eventually prevail,” Putin told participants of the ninth Moscow Conference on International Security.

NATO is considering routes to quickly transfer troops to the borders of the union state of Russia and Belarus, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at the conference.

Putin, on his part, expressed the belief that political will and willingness to compromise can contribute to strengthening strategic stability.

“Earlier, Russia presented proposals to develop a new security formula, which should take into account all factors that have an influence on strategic stability in interconnection. We are convinced that political will and willingness to compromise can give a positive result,” he was quoted as saying by Sputnik news agency.

The Russian strongman cited the Russian-US agreement to extend the New START nuclear arms reduction to 2026 as a great example.

Source: Agencies