OREANDA-NEWS Leaders of NATO countries are expected to name Russia as the most serious threat to the alliance at the summit in Madrid. This was stated by Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the alliance.

"We will approve a new strategic concept that will reflect the new reality", Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Brussels on Monday, June 27.

"I expect the allies to indicate in the concept that they consider Russia the most serious and direct threat to our security", Stoltenberg added.

In addition, according to him, the new concept will mention the threats emanating from China to NATO for the first time.

Stoltenberg noted that the alliance currently does not see an opportunity for dialogue with Russia, but at the same time they understand the need to maintain working communication channels to prevent conflict situations.

"Russia has closed the door to dialogue... We regret this position, but they have chosen the path of confrontation themselves", he said.

The NATO Secretary General noted that "at the same time, [NATO countries] still need communication channels to prevent incidents and conflict situations". He suggested that in the future these channels could be used to discuss the topic of arms control.