In a striking admission, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this morning "In fact, relations have now slipped to the level of direct confrontation."
He continued by saying "NATO was already involved in the conflict surrounding Ukraine and continues to move towards our borders and expand its military infrastructure towards our borders."
Elsewhere, Russian Deputy FM Alexander Grushko says relations with NATO are "predictably and deliberately" deteriorating, and all channels of dialogue between Moscow and the alliance have been brought to a "critical zero" level by Washington and Brussels.
