The 8th 'Moscow Conference on International Security' is taking place in the capital with the participation of defense ministers from at least 35 states and over 1,000 experts from more than 100 countries. Russia, in particular, is represented by the likes of Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The conference kicked off with some big declarations from the get-go with Sergey Shoygu responding to NATO's increased activity on Russia's borders: ''...this increased activity will lead to an adequate response from the Russian side'' further commenting that such a response will have ''retaliatory measures that will be taken in a timely, but not necessarily symmetrical, manner''.
Representatives from the Pentagon, though invited, declined to attend, but the international society hopes that they are listening. The conference continues over the next two days.
A Drago Victorien translation