MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. The myth of the Russian threat has been invented and is used by NATO to build up its military presence in the Baltic states and bring its infrastructure close to the Russian borders, an independent expert on European security told TASS on Monday.

"Even before their admission to NATO, all the three Baltic states stubbornly insisted that they were exposed to big risk and demanded special protection for themselves," the expert said.

"However, it is obvious that the security of any state depends on normal relations with neighbors and the development of interaction with them and many other non-military factors rather than on membership in a military bloc," he added.

Moreover, it is clear for a good specialist that even the so-called increased alert measures, which the North Atlantic alliance has been taking lately, including in the Baltic region, "are unable to ensure guaranteed security for the Baltic states," the expert said.

When NATO strategists were opening the alliance’s umbrella over the Baltic states, they were fully aware that these countries could not be protected from the military point of view, the expert said.

Nevertheless, NATO has come to the consensus on spreading the alliance’s guarantees under article 5 of the Washington Treaty (collective defense) to these Baltic states, the expert noted.

"The reason is clear: no one in his sound mind has considered or is considering the possibility of Russia’s invasion into the Baltic states," the expert said.

"The fact that this threat is fully ruled out is confirmed by the statement of top Russian leaders, including the president of Russia, from the UN rostrum," the expert noted.

"Meanwhile, imaginary threats, like the Russian threat, are actively exploited for geopolitical goals both by hardened Russophobes and the NATO leadership," the expert said, adding that it was important for the latter "to include new members in the bloc’s orbit to bring the infrastructure close to the Russian borders."