MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. NATO is building up its presence in the Baltic states, which may destabilize the military and political situation in the region and Russia’s proposals on de-escalation remain in force, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

The Russian diplomat made this statement in the wake of the commissioning of the Lielvarde military aerodrome in Latvia after its reconstruction.

The spokeswoman pointed to NATO’s new steps towards strengthening its military presence near the Russian borders.

"The reconstruction of the military airfield in Lielvarde has been completed in southeastern Latvia. According to media reports, this airbase is outfitted with modern air navigation equipment and is capable of receiving aircraft of the latest generation at any time of day and night irrespective of weather conditions," she pointed out.

"We are convinced that the build-up of NATO’s potential in the Baltic states can destabilize the military and political situation in the Baltic region. At the same time, our proposals on de-escalation remain in force," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

The Russian diplomat said that in this situation the statements by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg who claimed that these steps were defensive looked insincere.

"Moreover, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who visited the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels recently did not conceal that ‘deterring Russia’ was one of the bloc’s priority tasks," she said.