Russian envoy says Moscow will respond to NATO buildup in Baltics and Poland

  • 2017-06-05
  • LETA/TBT Staff

BRUSSELS - Russia's envoy to NATO warned on Thursday that Moscow is concerned by the alliance's military deployment in the Baltic states and Poland, and will respond to the buildup.

"NATO is building a new military security situation that we cannot ignore, that we should address using our own military instruments," Ambassador Alexander Grushko said in Brussels.

He declined to spell out what kind of measures Russia might take, saying only that "NATO's movements will not be left without a response in terms of military planning."

Twelve NATO countries are deploying a total of around 4,600 troops to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland and the four battlegroups are due to be fully up and running within two weeks.

NATO says it's a deterrent move aimed at countering aggression by Russia, which seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Grushko also said that Moscow sees no shift in U.S. defense policy since President Donald Trump came to office.