NATO activities in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region aim to prepare for a possible conflict with Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused on Thursday, commenting on the expansion of the Mihail Kogălniceanu air base.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the strengthening of NATO's military potential in Romania, Poland, and the Baltic countries.
"All of these are done to prepare the allies in the bloc for a potential clash with our country," the Moscow ministry conveyed to the state agency RIA.
"Such activity is provocative, exacerbates military tensions along the perimeter of Russia's borders, and represents a threat to the country's security," RIA summarizes the Russian Foreign Ministry's position.
The Russian ministry specifically mentioned the expansion of the Romanian air base at Mihail Kogălniceanu as an example of militarization of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region.
The institution led by Sergey Lavrov promises to monitor Romania's actions, evaluate emerging risks, and take them into account when planning military actions.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that NATO is aimed at confrontation, and its further expansion will not bring more security to Europe.
At the same time, the Kremlin consistently asserts that Russia does not pose a threat to any of the bloc countries, but will not ignore actions potentially dangerous to its interests.
Nevertheless, Moscow remains open to dialogue, but on an equal footing, and the West should abandon its course of militarizing the continent - explains the RIA agency, which is under Kremlin control.
The news is accompanied by a box with information about the Kogălniceanu base: "Romanian authorities have previously promised to invest 2.5 billion euros in the modernization of the Mihail Kogălniceanu air base in Constanța county. A military camp will also be built there, which will be able to accommodate ten thousand military personnel and their families. According to TVR Info, the modernization will allow the base to become the largest NATO facility of this kind in Europe by 2040. American troops have been using it since 1999," RIA reports.