TIRASPOL, July 6. /TASS/. NATO is trying to justify its existence by expanding to the east, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told a press conference on Wednesday.

"One by one, they are normal guys, but when they gather together - they are devil incarnates. It is a relic of the Cold War. What they are doing now toward Russia, its allies, its partners - this is really going too far. They are openly building up not as much military capabilities as military rhetoric," Rogozin said. "There is in fact nothing behind this apart from the selfish interest to justify its own existence. NATO is not a useful organization. NATO should have been dissolved long ago, and the Russian president talked about it," he added.

The last 20 or so years became a threat to the existence of NATO, because after the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the beginning of 1990s, the North Atlantic Alliance lost justification for its existence, the deputy prime minister continued. "When new difficulties appear in international relations now, they openly enjoy it, they are glad that they can show that someone needs them," he noted.

"In principle, this organization was set up exclusively for conflicts, for wars, for aggravating the situation," Rogozin concluded.