Russia Worried As NATO Boosts Activity at Belarus-Russia Borders - Lavrov

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow is worried about NATO's increased activity along the borders of Belarus and Russia, as well as the decision made at the alliance's summit to increase the military budgets of member countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.

“We are worried about the increased military activity of NATO near the borders of Belarus and Russia, as well as the decisions made at the alliance’s summit in London to further increase the military budgets of its countries. These steps lead to the militarization of Europe and are carried out contrary to the obligations not to strengthen their own security at the expense of the security of others,” the minister's address reads.

Alexey Drobinin, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Foreign Policy Planning Department (FPPD), read out the text of Lavrov's speech at the opening of a scientific conference at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

Lavrov's comment comes following NATO's announcement of its plans to boost its presence in Poland and the Baltic states to contain the so-called "Russian threat". Moscow has repeatedly stressed that the NATO military buildup would undermine regional stability.