“In light of the continuous speculations on the necessity of deploying additional permanent military presence from [NATO] country members, first and foremost from the United States on the ‘eastern flank’ of the bloc, we view this announced preparation [of expanding the airbase] as a blatant provocative step with the goal of destabilizing the situation in of the most traditionally stable regions from the point of view of military security in Europe,” the commentary reads.
Earlier, the commander of Estonia’s Air Force announced that NATO’s Air Force planed to expand its infrastructure at the Amari Military Airbase that was meant for civilian aviation.
The Amari airbase has been used by NATO since 2014.
NATO has been strengthening its military presence along Russia's western border since the start of the conflict in Ukraine last year, claiming Moscow's involvement.
Russia has repeatedly expressed concern that NATO's increased military activity near Russian borders could further aggravate existing tensions and undermine regional and global security.
