IN BRIEF: Kremlin spokesman covers NATO’s nature, US sanctions

MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. NATO’s nature and military exercises, the work of the State Duma (Russia’s parliament), as well as US "sanctions from hell" against Russia were the main topics of Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s briefing.

- NATO’s essence has not changed over the years. The bloc was created as a tool of confrontation and remains so: "Nothing changes in the nature of the North Atlantic Alliance over the years. The bloc was created at one point for confrontation, and it remains a tool of confrontation."

- NATO’s military exercises in the Baltic Sea also involve practicing the seizure of commercial vessels: "NATO is practicing the interception of commercial vessels. This is very important to note, this nuance."

- The US law imposing sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas exports, which the press has described as "hellish sanctions," does not contribute to reviving bilateral relations or furthering the Ukrainian settlement: "This does not contribute to reviving our relations and is unlikely to contribute to more successful progress toward a Ukrainian settlement."

- Russia has largely adapted to the sanctions and has also found ways to reduce the negative effects of their implementation: "More than 30,000 different sanctions have been imposed on Russia – corporate, sectoral, against individuals and so on. Of course, Russia has largely adapted to these sanctions and has found ways to minimize the negative effects of their implementation."

- Russia’s trading partners have expressed their complete rejection of such a policy toward the country as the imposition of US "sanctions from hell": "We are in constant contact with our trading partners. You have already heard statements in which they assessed such possible secondary restrictions. They are all unanimous in their complete rejection of this policy."

- The victory of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the elections is Germany’s internal affair, and the Kremlin would not like to comment on it in depth: "This is Germany’s internal affair, and here we would not like to comment on anything in depth."

- The Kremlin sees sufficiently low popularity figures for Germany’s current government: "At the same time, we note sufficiently low popularity and approval-rating figures for the current government in Germany."

- The Kremlin sees figures indicating a decline in the competitiveness of Germany’s economy, which is Europe’s largest economy: "We note figures related to the development of Germany’s economy and the decline in the competitiveness of the German economy, and this is, after all, the largest economy in Europe."

- The decline in Germany’s economic competitiveness is largely due to the country’s decision to stop buying cheap Russian gas: "We note that much of the decline in the competitiveness of Germany’s economy is due to the fact that Germany stopped buying cheap Russian gas and began buying very expensive gas.