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Moscow to respond to NATO growing presence near Russian border — diplomat

The increase of NATO military presence on the border with Russia undermines the spirit of the Russia-NATO founding act and cannot be left without response measures

NATO military exercise in Lithuania AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis

NATO military exercise in Lithuania

© AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis

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MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. NATO’s growing presence on the border with Russia cannot be left without response, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov told TASS on Tuesday.

"The Russian side has stated many times that the increase of NATO military presence on the border with Russia at least undermines the spirit of the Russia-NATO founding act and cannot be left without response measures for our part," Meshkov said during the conference of the Italian-Russian chamber of commerce. "We have to ensure security of our state," he stressed.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a joint briefing with Poland’s Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz earlier on Tuesday that military equipment will be dispatched on NATO’s eastern flank besides four battalions.

In an interview with The Financial Times on Tuesday, Stoltenberg also said this year defense spending by Europe’s NATO states is expected to rise for the first time in nearly a decade.

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