Russia does not expect NATO to change course under the leadership of its new Secretary General Mark Rutte, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, just hours after the former Dutch prime minister took over as NATO chief from Jens Stoltenberg.
Under Rutte, there will be nothing new or important in the alliance’s policy, Peskov was quoted by Russian news agencies.
Russia has repeatedly claimed that its security is threatened by NATO. Moscow also says that one of the reasons for waging its war against Ukraine is to prevent the country from joining the Western defense alliance.
Peskov recalled that Rutte had held repeated talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his time as Dutch prime minister, and said there was hope in Moscow that good and pragmatic relations could be established.
“But then it became clear that the Netherlands had taken a rather unyielding position, a position of complete exclusion from contacts with our country,” said Peskov.
