Germany: Russia has 'ripped up the international rulebook' - NATO deputy head

American ambassador and current US Deputy Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Alexander Vershbow, accused Russia of having "ripped up the international rulebook" in its approach to the conflict in Ukraine, during an address to the Berlin Security Conference in the German capital, Tuesday. The career diplomat went on to criticise Russia for its "aggression" in the region, which he suggested had increased levels of violence and instability in eastern Europe. Aleksei Meshkov, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, however responded to the accusation by asking rhetorically "Who threatens whom?," Meshkov pointed out that "the combined military budget of NATO countries is 1 trillion dollars. Russian military budget, 60 billion dollars," adding that "[that is] seventeen times less."