Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said today that Moscow must stop taking a "tolerant" approach to Ukraine's possible accession to the European Union, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
"The European Union is no longer just an economic union. It could relatively quickly turn into a purely military alliance, openly hostile to Russia, and in some respects it could be worse than NATO," Medvedev warned.
"It is time to abandon the tolerant attitude that we have towards our neighbors regarding their accession to the already military-economic European Union," Medvedev said, adding that he did not believe the United States would leave the Alliance, but expressed confidence that Washington could take symbolic steps, such as reducing the number of American troops stationed in NATO countries.
Thus, Medvedev expressed the opinion that the obvious differences within the Alliance could push the EU to become something more than an economic union, Reuters notes.