In an interview with Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Patrushev said the US government has been trying to torpedo the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) intentionally in order to destabilize the situation inside Iran.
The senior Russian security official said Washington’s strategic purpose is to take advantage of the anti-Iran sanctions to trigger widespread anti-government protests inside Iran and destabilize the country.
Although Russia tried to dissuade Americans from adopting a non-constructive policy towards Iran, they have taken perilous measures in this regard, Patrushev said.
He added that the US presence near Russian borders will continue to grow, which would destabilize the situation in the world.
“In general, our analysis shows that the American presence near our borders will grow," Patrushev said. "Such steps can only be estimated negatively… The growth of military presence is a military threat to our state, a clear element of destabilization of the situation in the world, which creates a policy of mistrust instead of a policy of partnership.”
He then reminded that during the Cold War, the US built around 1,200 military bases all over the world. “Since the end of the confrontation between the US and the USSR, their number has decreased, however, there are currently about 800 US bases in the world. Also, we shouldn’t forget that the US supports the highest number of carrier and amphibian groups in the world, which replace land bases. In essence, we can confirm Washington’s return to the well-known ‘gunboat diplomacy’,” Tass quoted him as saying.
“As for Russia’s western borders, we note the course for the growth of military presence of the US and other NATO members in their vicinity. In 2019, placement of multinational battalion tactical groups in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland will continue. At the same time, Brussels does not hide the fact that that its main goal is to contain our country,” Patrushev stated.
“The strengthening of the European segment of the US global missile defense system continues. The inauguration of the missile defense complex in Poland in addition to the already functioning one in Romania is expected in 2020,” he concluded.