Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday compared NATO’s plans to strengthen cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries to an alliance of the Axis powers in World War II.
“They say they will create a global NATO. Well, what is that? … they want to create a new Axis, like the one created in 1930s by the fascist regimes in Germany, Italy and militaristic Japan,” the Russian president said during an appearance on state TV channel Russia-24.
Putin was referring to a statement issued by the NATO military alliance, after the leaders of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea in June 2022 attended a NATO summit for the first time. NATO said in a statement in February that “strengthening relations with the Asia-Pacific partners forms an important aspect of the NATO 2030 agenda.”
The Russian leader on Sunday attempted to compare this to the Axis powers in World War II—the three principal partners in this alliance were Germany, Italy, and Japan. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, these three countries recognized German and Italian dominance in continental Europe, and Japanese supremacy over East Asia.
Throughout Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, Putin and the Kremlin have been pushing the rhetoric that NATO is de facto at “war” with Russia in Ukraine. Moscow has long considered the military alliance, and its steady expansion, as a threat to the country.
“Last year, NATO agreed on a new strategic concept for the bloc’s development. And it directly says that NATO is going to develop relations with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region,” Putin began. “They are listed directly, these countries. There is New Zealand, Australia, and South Korea. And yes, they say that they will create a global NATO. Well, what is that?
“And, say, Great Britain and Japan at the beginning of this year, in January, in my opinion, signed an agreement on mutual openness, that is, on establishing contacts and developing relations in the military spheres,” the Russian leader added.
Putin went on to compare NATO’s plans to strengthen relations with its partners in the Indo-Pacific region to the Axis powers. They were eventually joined by five other European states during World War II.
NATO has said that it is becoming “increasingly important to address cross-cutting security issues and global challenges, as well as to defend the rules-based international order” by strengthening ties with “like-minded partners across the globe.”
“This is why strengthening relations with partners in the Indo-Pacific forms an important aspect of the NATO 2030 agenda,” the alliance said in a February statement.
Newsweek has contacted NATO’s press office through its website for comment.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday compared NATO’s plans to strengthen cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries to an alliance of the Axis powers in World War II.
