(VOVworld) – On Wednesday, Andrei Kelin, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official, warned NATO not to build up its naval forces in the Black Sea because such a move would undermine regional security and Moscow's already fragile ties with NATO.

Russian state media reported earlier this month that the USS Porter, a US naval destroyer, had entered the Black Sea on a routine deployment. (Photo: Reuters)

A day earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had said NATO will increase its presence in the Black Sea but the final decision will be made at the NATO summit in Warsaw next month.

Currently around 3,000 NATO soldiers are on stationed in Poland and the Baltic countries.

Relations between NATO and Russia became tense following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March, 2014. NATO accused Russia of triggering the crisis in eastern Ukraine but President Vladimir Putin’s administration rejected the accusation, and said NATO’s expansion to the east threatens Russia’s security. Putin has said Rusia will retaliate, if necessary, to ensure its security.