Putin Planning Military Coalition To Rival NATO: ISW - Newsweek

Rhetoric from Vladimir Putin about a Eurasian security coalition is part of a Kremlin plan to create a group of Moscow-friendly countries to rival the West and NATO, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.

The assessment by the Washington, DC think tank follows Putin's visit to North Korea which, one international security expert told Newsweek, has "deepened an already intensifying relationship of convenience" between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Putin said on Friday Moscow is ready to discuss Eurasian security issues with the Russian and Chinese-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), as well as BRICs nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates).

He told military graduates at the Kremlin palace in Moscow about plans "to create an equal and indivisible security in Eurasia."

It echoes comments by his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov who told a foreign ministers' meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan about Moscow's efforts to form a "Eurasian security architecture" to replace the Euro-Atlantic security system.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin — Vladimir Putin at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on June 22, 2024. He has called for the "indivisible security in Eurasia" in what the Institute for the Study of War said was... Vladimir Putin at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on June 22, 2024. He has called for the "indivisible security in Eurasia" in what the Institute for the Study of War said was a Kremlin move to create a rival to the West. ALEXANDER KAZAKOV/Getty Images

The ISW said Lavrov was probably referring to Moscow's efforts to increase cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) following Putin's state visit to Vietnam, which he has included in his idea of Eurasia, in addition to North Korea.

The U.S. think tank said that Putin and his officials will probably push Russia's efforts to create a coalition "to posture as an alternative to NATO," while also trying to "falsely portray Western countries as Ukraine's only supporters."

This is part of a Kremlin plan to establish a group which can act "as an alternative to the West and undermine NATO," the ISW added.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian foreign ministry for comment.

Since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin has upped his calls for a pivot away from what he has criticized as a western-dominated global and economic political system.

In his first visit to North Korea for nearly a quarter of a century, the countries agreed a mutual defense pact as Moscow turns increasingly to the isolated state for munitions to help Russian forces in Ukraine.

"The new partnership has deepened an already intensifying relationship of convenience," Gabrielle Reid, associate director at strategic intelligence firm S-RM, told Newsweek in emailed comments.

However, amid the appearance of a growing alliance between Russia and North Korea, Reid said that the cooperation "will be muted and remain one driven by necessity rather than an intent to ramp up their respective aggressive foreign policy agendas simultaneously."

"China has also notably kept a distance from the agreement to avoid overt damage to cooperation with Western trade partners or give an undue spotlight to the deal as a tripartite agreement," Reid added.