Moscow. September 21. INTERFAX-Washington is seeking to expand the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) to counter Russia and China in the Asia-Pacific region, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said.
"We are actually talking about a new military-political bloc with a pronounced pro-American character. In fact, QUAD is a prototype of the Asian analogue of NATO. Washington will try to draw other countries into this organization, mainly for conducting anti-Chinese and anti-Russian policies, "Patrushev said in an interview with the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.
According to him, the newly created US-British-Australian AUKUS block is also directed against Russia and China.
"For the sake of implementing another adventure of the White House, in order to strengthen control over such a promising region as the Asia - Pacific region is today, the entire security architecture in Asia is being put at risk, prerequisites are being created for undermining the authority of ASEAN and other regional associations," the Secretary of the Security Council noted.
In July, Indian Foreign Minister Subramanian Jaishankar stated that the QUAD block is not directed against any third countries. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the QUAD is not a military bloc and its goal is "to develop cooperation in connection with regional challenges, to strengthen international rules and norms for the sake of improving the situation in the Indo-Pacific region."
At the same time, in 2017, Mike Pompeo, who held the post of Secretary of State at that time, argued that one of the main tasks of the bloc is to "contain China".
