MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. Russia is closely following discussions over the possibility of Europe creating its own defense alliance, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told the media.

"These debates are constantly being revitalized or, on the contrary, fade into the background. We are just watching them closely," he said.

Peskov pointed out that such an idea was not new for the EU.

"The independent dimension of security policy, identity in terms of ensuring its own security in the EU has been discussed for more than a decade. So far, the Europeans have not succeeded. They have retained their NATO-oriented approaches," he added.

Earlier, Boris Rein, a German regional politician and prime minister of the federal state of Hesse, said that Europe needED to strengthen its security by creating a defensive alliance.