The Trump administration does not view relations with the North Atlantic Alliance or Europe as a priority as evidenced by the fact that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will not attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers scheduled for April 5-6, political analyst Vladimir Batyuk told RIA Novosti. [...]

Where is the increasingly vituperative spat between Turkey and The Netherlands (and other EU countries) going to lead? Why is this political fall-out between fellow NATO members happening at this precise moment? First, a quick recap of the events.   [...]

A Gallup poll has revealed that citizens of four NATO nations would sooner count on Russia to defend them rather than the United States, Bloomberg reported on Friday, reflecting the changing perceptions of the US's role in global security. Between October and December 2016, WIN/Gallup International asked around a thousand people in 66 countries who would be their go-to ally if attacked. [...]

Moscow’s envoy to NATO has said the bloc’s recent moves and future plans aimed at boosting its military presence near Russian borders have no justification and have only served to heighten tensions. “In essence, by its preparations along our borders NATO tries to impose on us a confrontational agenda that has nothing to do with real needs in the security sphere,” Aleksandr Grushko said [...]

US military hardware, including M1A2 Abrams battle tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, have arrived in the northern Estonian town of Tapa as part of continued US efforts to counter the alleged Russian threat.   [...]

Donald Trump has stated that although the US strongly supports NATO, it wants all members to make their full contributions to the alliance. His comments were made during a speech at the US Central Command in Florida. [...]

This is also the first time US troops will have been stationed right on Russia’s borders. It is a great concern and is part of the US buildup of empire, says Elsa Rassbach, German affiliate of War Resisters International, Code Pink. NATO's anti-Russia exercises are being ratcheted up with Germany announcing it would deploy tanks to Lithuania. [...]

US President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that NATO is an obsolete organization since it is not much engaged in fighting terrorism and its members are not contributing enough. In an interview with Sputnik Germany, German politician Tobias Pflueger commented on Trump's statements and his position toward the military alliance. [...]

A senior NATO general echoed the words of US President-elect Donald Trump in acknowledging that parts of the NATO military alliance are “obsolete,” saying it needs to adapt, but cited very different reasons and directions for change. [...]

A military security system, which would include Russia, should be set up instead of NATO, Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the German Left party said in an interview, echoing Trump’s recent statements on NATO. [...]

9/11 marks the onslaught of the “Global War on Terrorism” (GWOT), used as a pretext and a justification by the US and its NATO allies to carry out a “war without borders”, a global war of conquest. A far-reaching overhaul of US military doctrine was launched in the wake of 9/11. [...]

NATO’s war on Serbia in 1999 was the template for other “humanitarian” wars – in Iraq, Libya and now Syria – but it wasn’t “news” when the Serbian leader was cleared, notes John Pilger. The exoneration of a man accused of the worst of crimes, genocide, made no headlines. Neither the BBC nor CNN covered it. The Guardian allowed a brief commentary. [...]

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford has pointed the finger of blame at Russia for what he called the attempts to "undermine" the NATO alliance during his speech at the National Defense University. Russia is making attempts to "undermine the most successful alliance in history [...]

Russia has invited NATO’s military experts to Moscow in September and offered a “positive program” for developing relations with the military alliance — but is reconciliation really what NATO is interested in? Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said the proposal was aimed at decreasing tensions and that Moscow was ready for a constructive approach, despite differences betwe [...]

Russia plans to deploy one of its best air defense systems, the S-400 Triumf to Crimea in August. The regiment that will protect the skies over the Black Sea peninsula from NATO's "air hooligans," as Crimea's Vice Premier Ruslan Balbek put it, will be stationed in the port town of Feodosia. The S-400 complex will become a welcome addition to Crimea's multilayered air defense structure that cont [...]

NATO has not flown its white-on-blue flag during the course of its massive Anaconda-2016 war games aimed at demonstrating European solidarity and unity in the face of a purported “Russian threat,” suggesting that there are deep divisions within the alliance over the portrayal of Moscow as an enemy. [...]

There are signs indicating a slight shift in NATO's strategy towards Russia. Western Europe now does not believe in the "Russian menace" while some Western politicians have called upon the EU to regard Moscow as an ally rather than a geopolitical rival. [...]

According to statements made at last weekend’s summit in Warsaw, NATO regards Russia as a bigger threat than ISIS. Of course, that's ludicrous but when you scratch beneath the surface, the use of these falsehoods makes perverted sense. [...]

Next Monday, US Navy ships will join their Ukrainian counterparts in Black Sea naval drills dubbed Sea Breeze-2016. However, some analysts are concerned that the content of the exercises could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region. The 'Black Sea Breeze-2016' drills, taking place in southern Ukraine, are set to begin on July 18. [...]

As the U.S. and NATO mount provocative military maneuvers on Russia’s border, the West is oblivious to how these threatening gestures ratchet up prospects of thermonuclear war that could extinguish civilization, says Gilbert Doctorow. In his eulogy to Mohammed Ali at the Louisville memorial service, Rabbi Michael Lerner reminded us all of the distinguishing feature of “The Greatest,” that [...]

Germany has no alterative than to reconcile itself with NATO's strategy, experts say, commenting on Berlin's plans to include Russia in its top ten major threats list. However, it is unlikely that NATO will use Germany as a 'battering ram' against Russia, they say. [...]

The US strategy in Europe is aimed at strengthening its control over EU and NATO states, selling more military equipment to its European allies to make super-profits for its military-industrial complex and to isolate Russia, political author Diana Johnstone told RT. [...]