(MENAFN) NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is wielding double standards by alleging that Moscow is colluding with China and other nations to "undermine global rules," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has declared.

In a Thursday post on her Telegram channel, Zakharova questioned "what 'global rules'" Rutte referenced, demanding NATO publish a "full list" on its website. She additionally highlighted that the military alliance itself has a history of violating international law. The Russian diplomat referenced the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 on fabricated pretexts, as prime examples.

Zakharova emphasized that no NATO member states have terminated cooperation with China, despite Rutte's assertions.

"The other day, a US-China summit was held – I didn't hear Rutte criticize US President [Donald Trump] for that," she pointed out.

Addressing the NATO-Industry Forum in Bucharest, Romania earlier Thursday, Rutte claimed that "Russia is not alone in its efforts to undermine the global rules," alleging that "it is working with China, with North Korea, with Iran and others."

According to the NATO chief, those nations "are increasing their defense industrial collaboration to unprecedented levels," which he said indicates that "they are preparing for long term confrontation."

Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that NATO has been "artificially expanding its zone of responsibility far beyond the Euro-Atlantic region," seeking to turn the whole of Eurasia into its "fiefdom."

The Western military bloc is pursuing the "obvious goal of containing China, isolating Russia, and confronting the DPRK [North Korea]," the top Russian diplomat asserted.

Western officials have repeatedly accused China of helping Russia's military in the context of the Ukraine conflict—a claim Beijing has consistently denied.

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