Russia vows 'adequate' response to Nato expansion in eastern Europe

Russia has said it is preparing an "adequate" response to Nato's move of expanding its forces in eastern Europe, escalating tensions between Moscow and the Western world.

The Russian envoy to the transatlantic alliance said "naturally" Russia will respond to the latest deployment in order to protect Moscow's interests in the region.

"The opening up of additional military potential along our borders is nothing more than an attempt to exert pressure on Russia," Alexander Grushko told Russian reporters, according to the Sputnik news agency.

Grushko added that the "serious changes in the military-political situation" would certainly force Russia to step up its military measures.

He said that the Nato's latest expansion "creates a great risk for Russia" in the Baltics and could even snowball into a "military confrontation" between Moscow's forces and their adversaries.

Nato had earlier announced that it is strengthening its foothold in eastern Europe in the wake of increasing tensions between Kiev's troops and pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.

The bloc said it is setting up six bases with a 5,000-strong force to cope with the "changed security environment".

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg stated: "Our core responsibility is to keep our nations safe, and that is exactly what we are doing."

"We have decided on the immediate establishment of the first six multinational command and control units in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania."

Responding to Nato's move, Grushko, the Russian diplomat, insisted: "The training centre in Georgia is a step that cannot be considered anything but provocation. There is no necessity for NATO to create any [training] centres."

Ties between Russia and Western nations are at its worst since the Cold War era and this can be primarily attributed to the fighting in Ukraine.