By James Slavyanski
MOSCOW
NATO is advancing its military infrastructure toward Russia's borders, the head of the Russian general staff has said.
Valeriy Gerasimov said at a meeting of military attaches in Moscow on Wednesday: "Presently in Poland, the Baltic countries and in the Black and Baltic seas, they are building up the alliance's land, sea and air forces."
"They have intensified military exercises and the training of NATO forces under the false pretense of 'countering the threat from the East'," he said.
Tensions between NATO and Russia have risen since the outbreak of a conflict in Eastern Ukraine, with Western nations alleging that Moscow has been supporting the separatist rebels, if not directly intervening in the conflict.
"In the rhetoric of certain Western countries, especially those of the North Atlantic alliance, Russia is directly blamed for the events of the past year in Ukraine, which have spilled over into a bloody conflict in the south-east," said Gerasimov.
Recent months have seen a rise in Russian air force and naval activity around the globe, including numerous incidents of Russian military aircraft allegedly violating the airspace of other nations.
Among such incidents was a near collision between a passenger plane bound for Rome and a Russian reconnaissance plane on March 3.
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