MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. Moscow has to take into account US military preparations directed against Russia, including in the Baltic states, Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"We noted the deployment to the Baltic states of US special operations’ servicemen, this issue could not have remained unnoticed," the diplomat said. "We view these actions as another example of provocative military activity close to Russia’s borders in the framework of a notorious line towards containing Russia."

The diplomat said it is clear that the goal of these efforts is the attempt of the outgoing Barack Obama administration to "complicate as much as possible the situation in bilateral relations and make the new US authorities a hostage of its systematic and rather unfriendly policy towards Russia."

"We will be forced to further take into consideration in our defense planning the US military preparations aimed against Russia, including in the Baltic states," Zakharova stressed. "We hope that the new US government will not toe the mark of this apparently deadlock line that provokes confrontation between our countries," she said.