CNN, Ukraine :Russia recalled its ambassador to NATO for consultations Thursday, two days after NATO member countries suspended cooperation with Russia over the Ukraine crisis, Russian state media reported.Col. Gen. Valery Yevnevich will return to Moscow in light of NATO’s actions, official news agency ITAR-Tass said, citing Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov’s remarks to journalists.”The policy of (deliberately) whipping up tensions is not our choice. Nonetheless, we see no possibility to continue military cooperation with NATO in a routine regime,” Antonov is quoted as saying.He accused NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen of making “confrontational statements” at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers early this week and questioned NATO steps to bolster its presence in Eastern Europe.Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow wanted answers from NATO regarding activities in Eastern Europe after the Western military alliance said it would step up defenses for its eastern members.Russia’s move to annex the Crimea region from Ukraine last month has sparked the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War and raised fears among its Eastern European neighbors.
