German military attache: NATO doesn't view Russia as enemy but wants to protect Baltics

NATO sees Russia as a partner but fears for the future of Russia's neighbours — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, doyen of the military attache corps in Russia, German Brigadier General Reiner Schwalb, said.

"I can assure you that NATO does not view Russia as a military or political adversary. NATO has always said and will say that it sees Russia as a partner. The thing is the measures currently being taken by NATO are not preventive, but can insure member countries of that military-political bloc against an annexation, similar to the one that happened to Crimea," Schwalb told reporters in Astrakhan on Thursday after a meeting between a delegation of European military attaches and the Astrakhan regional administration.

"NATO is operating in two ways. Firstly, it is protecting and helping prevent a possible threat from Russia for such Russian neighbours as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. At the same time, NATO is trying to preserve neighbourly contacts with Russia in the capacity of a bloc in order to normalise those relations," the general said.

The delegation of military attaches is paying a visit of friendship to Astrakhan. The delegation toured the city, visited the historical and architectural museum and met with members of the Astrakhan regional administration on Thursday.