MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. NATO takes an outspokenly confrontational attitude to Russia and stubbornly brings its military infrastructure closer to the Russian borders, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an enlarged meeting of the Foreign Ministry’s board on Thursday.

Drawing attention to the fact that opportunities for cooperation with Europe were shrinking, because the EU was pushing Russia away with sanctions, he remarked: "A similar, if not even more dismaying situation, is taking shape in relations with the North Atlantic Alliance, which displays an outspokenly confrontational attitude and stubbornly brings its military infrastructure closer to our borders."

Putin recalled that NATO had ruined all dialogue mechanisms at its own initiative. "As for NATO’s military activity near Russia’s borders, we will react to it proportionately, of course," he stated.

But, he went on to say, it is essential for Brussels to realize: easing military-political tensions would meet not only Russia’s interests, but the interests of the whole of Europe and the whole world in general.

"First, they expel diplomats without explaining the reasons. Then they get angry when their mission in Russia is closed down. What’s the point of getting angry? It was their initiative. They did all that with their own hands. And then they start finding faults with others," Putin recalled. "Well, if they do not want to cooperate, they are free to do so. We don’t feel too much upset about this. But I think that they will agree to cooperate."

Putin said that the alliance was already sending messages it would like to cooperate with Russia. "But why did they expel the diplomats? All of a sudden, without an apparent reason? Do they think that it is a kind of a sports game?" Putin wondered.