MOSCOW, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is purposefully destabilizing the situation along Russia's border with the Sea Breeze 2021 military exercises, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
With the involvement of more than 30 countries and 5,000 military personnel, these exercises cannot be called "friendly" or considered regular drills but are clearly politically driven, the ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at her weekly briefing.
"The Black Sea space is consistently being transformed by Washington and its allies from an area of cooperation into an area of violent confrontation," Zakharova said.
While discussing the recent incidents in the Black Sea with British and Dutch warships, Zakharova explained that these activities were clearly coordinated.
"This demonstrates NATO's aggressive course towards Russia. The North Atlantic bloc is purposefully destabilizing the situation along the perimeter of our borders and increasing the risk of armed incidents," she said. Enditem