US missile defence is ‘destabilising factor’: Russian defence minister

He added that NATO was “forcefully promoting its interests” in the Baltic region.

Shoigu said Russian military activities were a "balanced response to the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance” and to the deployment of NATO forces to countries bordering Russia.

Earlier this year, NATO started to position four multinational battalion battle groups in Poland and the Baltic states.

Speaking at the opening of the sixth Moscow Conference on International Security, Shoigu said that deployment of the missile defence system in Europe “lowered the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons”.

He also said that Montenegro’s accession to the alliance, expected to be completed by the end of June, was proof that NATO was increasing its control over the Balkan states. (vb/pk)

Source: PAP