Russian military chief voices concern about NATO activities

MOSCOW – Russia’s chief military officer met with his French counterpart Thursday and raised concern about NATO’s activities near the Russian border.

Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Moscow has become increasingly worried about the western military alliance’s moves, including exercises “held on the basis of anti-Russian scenarios and envisage training for offensive operations.”

At the same time, Gerasimov had praise uring his meeting with French Gen. François Lecointre, chief of the defence staff, for the contacts between the Russian and French armed forces.

The Russian military chief also hailed a bilateral agreement to prevent air and navy incidents.

Russia-West relations have plunged to post-Cold War lows after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea and Moscow’s support for a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Russia and NATO have blamed each other for a spike in tensions.