MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. The intensified anti-Russian military drills trigger tensions in some regions, including in the waters of the Baltic and Black Seas, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev told the Moscow Conference on International Security on Thursday.
According to him, Russia sees "high intensity of intelligence and demonstrative actions of NATO aircraft and ships near Russian borders".
"We are observing a significant surge in the number of exercises with clear anti-Russian scenarios, the deployment of additional forces and means in the direction of Russia. Such actions lead to the creation of tension in those regions, where until recently the military-political situation was favorable. In particular, this concerns the waters of the Baltic and Black Seas," Patrushev said.
Patrushev stressed that "there is no alternative to Russia’s course towards enhancing its defense potential".
The Russian Security Council Secretary underscored that many in the West claim that Moscow is pursuing an aggressive and expansive policy. "However, let’s look at the facts: NATO countries continually increase their military spending. Despite the overall GDP drop in the world by more than 6% during the 2020 pandemic, the alliance’s military spending grew by nearly 4%. Meanwhile, in absolute terms in this field NATO countries outperform Russia by nearly five times and with the US defense budget by nearly 20 times," Patrushev said.