MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. Washington used NATO mechanisms to practically 'occupy' Europe, as European officials have no other choice but to meekly fulfill the alliance’s military objectives, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said in an interview to the Izvestia newspaper, published on Wednesday.

"By creating the North Atlantic Alliance’s mechanisms that serve its own needs, the United States has effectively occupied Europe," he said. "European officials, who found themselves in a hopeless situation, have turned the Old World into an economic base for US experiments. They continue to obediently fulfill NATO’s military objectives."

In Patrushev’s words, NATO command under the leadership of the Pentagon is engaged in direct contacts with arms makers, "simply ignoring the official authorities of other countries."

The Russian security official also said that NATO expansion allows Washington to gain control over additional territories in eastern Europe. In this regard, the procedure of admitting new members speaks for itself, he continued, as the protocol "stipulates an oath of allegiance to the master through the submission of ratification documents to none other than the government of the United States.".