MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. Political elites in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are using the myth about a Russian threat to secure funds that will be embezzled anyway, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky told TASS.

NATO countries bordering Russia and Belarus are strengthening their defense capabilities in the case of a military conflict, Politico reported earlier. US President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw his country from NATO after the end of the Iran war to penalize Europeans for their refusal to support Washington, the newspaper wrote.

"The Baltic countries are not enemies to us, but they create this fear [of Russia] for their populations. Given America is withdrawing its troops, they will try to get money from the European Commission and NATO for building the so-called defenses against Russia in order to profit and attempt to steal billions," the senior Russian lawmaker said.

However, the US is unlikely to withdraw from NATO, he noted, because the alliance has functioned as an instrument of leverage on European politics for Washington.