Russian Ambassador Antonov Warns of Danger from Military ‘Quad’ Aimed against China

Sept. 18, 2020 (EIRNS)—In an interview given to Nikkei Asian Review today, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov warned of the danger of the formation of the Quad, the military collaboration among the U.S., Japan, Australia and India, which is clearly aimed against China. “Russia, for its part, will never participate in coalitions against third countries, including China,” Antonov says. “Unfortunately, Washington promotes anti-Chinese sentiments and its relations with regional countries are based on their support to such an approach.” Asked about the “free and open Indo-Pacific” which the Quad is supposed to be defending, Antonov replied that it is neither free nor open, but rather “non-transparent and non-inclusive.” It is “closed to a lot of countries and even whole regions if we talk about the Indian Ocean countries,” he declared.

Antonov also went after Washington’s much-touted “rules-based order.” “What are those rules, who created them and who agreed to them—all this remains unclear,” he demanded to know. He then spoke of India’s important relationship with Russia. “Russia is strengthening its ties with India in the areas which the U.S. and other Western countries have closed for cooperation with New Delhi,” he said, mentioning, in particular, energy and “military-technical cooperation.”

“We are certain that the government of Narendra Modi will continue to pursue a harmonious multidimensional policy, develop predictable and mutually beneficial relations with all countries, including Russia (it is also our goal) as well as the U.S.,” Antonov said. “We are convinced that the last thing India needs when building up its armed forces and defense capabilities is prompting from the outside,” he said in an obvious jab at Washington.

Asked about the U.S. deployment of intermediate missiles in Asia, Antonov replied, “The possible deployment of U.S. intermediate-range ground-based missiles in Asia will not only upset the military-political balance in the region and global strategic stability, but will also directly affect Russia’s national security interests.”

The transcript of the interview is posted on the Embassy’s website.