Kremlin says NATO's desire for a 'military Schengen' zone in Europe ratchets up tensions

The Kremlin said on Friday that NATO's desire to have a military analogue of the Schengen Zone in Europe to allow the alliance's armed forces to move freely around to counter Russia had ratcheted up tensions and was a cause for concern.

The Kremlin said on Friday that NATO's desire to have a military analogue of the Schengen Zone in Europe to allow the alliance's armed forces to move freely around to counter Russia had ratcheted up tensions and was a cause for concern. The chief of NATO's logistics command JSEC, Lieutenant-General Alexander Sollfrank, told Reuters in an interview published on Thursday that he would like to see such a zone.

He said he was worried that too much red tape across Europe was hindering troop movements, a problem that could cause major delays were a conflict with Russia to erupt. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would respond if the proposal became a reality.