GENEVA, September 16. /TASS/. NATO countries are rehearsing scenarios in the Baltic for blockading the Kaliningrad Region and militarily and politically isolating Russia’s northwestern ports, including St. Petersburg, Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control, said.

"While the Black Sea has become a full-fledged arena of military confrontation, NATO countries in the Baltic are already testing specific scenarios for blockading the Kaliningrad Region, along with plans to militarily and politically isolate Russia’s northwestern ports, including St. Petersburg," she told a plenary meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s forum.

According to Zhdanova, NATO’s drive to escalate tensions around the Kaliningrad Region was confirmed the previous day by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who called on the alliance to step up exercises near the Russian region’s border.

Zhdanova therefore invited the Polish delegation to explain at subsequent meetings how such statements were consistent with responsible conduct by an OSCE participating state in reducing military risks.