MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia must provide an adequate response to NATO plans to increase its military presence in Eastern Europe, but without the use of force, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev said Thursday.
Defense ministers of the 28-nation NATO bloc agreed on Wednesday to boost the Alliance's military presence in Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea to counter the alleged "Russian aggressive stance in the region."
"I'm sure that Russia must respond to such plans as usual — adequately and seriously. But without the use of force," Gorbachev told RIA Novosti.
Gorbachev also suggested that the increased NATO hostility toward Russia had been orchestrated and fueled by Washington.
