MOSCOW, June 18. /TASS/. Moscow is concerned by the reports emerging that the US army contingent in the Middle East is expanding, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Tuesday.
"We are coming from [the understanding] that the final decision on a format of possible additional deployment of US forces in the region has not been made yet. There are only preliminary leaks and certain public signals. However, we are evidently drawing close to the US contingent of forces and equipment in the region being additionally expanded. This raises great concerns here," he said.