(VOVworld) – The growing number of NATO drills near Russia’s borders could lead to destabilization of the situation in north-eastern Europe, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said on Monday. Meshkov made the statement following an announcement by NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that this year NATO "is implementing the strongest reinforcement of its collective defense since the end of the Cold War." NATO is also speeding up the establishment of a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force of 5,000 soldiers who will be ready for service in Poland and Baltic countries.

NATO ship. Photo: AFP

The same day, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Sergey Zheleznyak said that to continue the Russia-EU strategic cooperation, European legislators should act for the benefit of EU voters and not in response to external factors.