Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has lashed out at Western politicians for holding on to a Cold War mentality with regard to global developments.
Addressing the 53rd Munich Security Conference in Germany, on Saturday, Lavrov said that statements made by Western politicians showed that the Cold War mentality still existed.
"They say that all wars begin in the minds of people, and by this logic, that’s where they are supposed to come to an end. However, this has not been the case with the Cold War yet, [at least] judging by some speeches of politicians in Europe and in the US, including statements that were made yesterday and today at the beginning of our conference," Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister expressed regret over NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's silence with regard to Moscow's call for cooperation between Russia and the Western military alliance.
"We need to resume [our] military cooperation. [And yet] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, surrounded by his deputies yesterday, couldn't say that NATO is ready for this. It's sad," the Russian foreign minister said.
On February 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed NATO over what he termed as its constant attempts to drag Moscow into a military confrontation.
The Russian leader criticized NATO member states for describing Russia as their key security threat during their summit last July in the Polish capital city of Warsaw.
President Putin also expressed regret that fighting common enemies, such as terrorist groups, had been primarily affected in the wake of strained relations between Moscow and NATO.
Russia and NATO have been at loggerheads over Moscow's alleged role in Ukraine's conflict, which has claimed thousands of lives.
The Western military alliance severed its ties with Moscow in 2014, after the Ukraine-controlled Baltic peninsula of Crimea rejoined the Russian Federation in a historic referendum.
Since then, NATO has been deploying weapons and equipment close to Russia's borders.
In early January, the US military also began the deployment of hundreds of combat vehicles such as tanks and artillery guns along with 3,500 troops to Germany.
