State Dept. spox flops on question of NATO exercises near Russian border

RT.com. Russia using Vietnamese air bases to refuel bomber aircraft raises tensions with the West, yet there is nothing wrong with US and NATO drills near the Russian border, according to State Department spokesperson Jeff Rathke.

RT’s Gayane Chichakyan and the AP’s Matt Lee questioned Rathke, the director of the agency’s Officer of Press Relations, during Friday’s daily press briefing, asking whether the US and NATO’s ongoing military exercises in Estonia could be interpreted as potentially provocative. When pressed to explain the seeming contradiction in the government’s views, the spokesman struggled with an answer.

RT.com: Drills for me but not for thee: NATO launches war games near Russian border

Massive military drill in Russian far east: Kamchatka coast rocked by defense barrage