Russia to launch 'proportionate' response against NATO's military build-up in Poland

Russia on Saturday issued a stern warning against military build-up in Poland by troops of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry department in-charge of Moscow's relations with Europe, Oleg Tyapkin, in a statement, advised NATO forces against expansion along the Russia-Poland border, saying that such advancement would trigger Russia to take "proportionate" actions, Interfax News Agency reported. The Russian ombudsman also added that Moscow will resort to "appropriate" steps in order to thwart "potential threats" to the internal security of the Russian Federation.

"A response, as always, will be proportionate and appropriate, intended to neutralise potential threats to the security of the Russian Federation" amid NATO's expansionist behaviour, said Tyapkin, as quoted by Interfax.

The sweeping warning comes at a time when Russia is already distraught with Finland and Sweden's NATO bid. Moscow repeatedly voiced concern against the Nordic countries joining the bloc, arguing that it would change the stability in Europe. Shortly before Finnish and Swedish state heads forwarded their membership applications to NATO, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the international military bloc "remains a toll geared towards confrontation," BBC reported. In addition, Moscow had also flagged nuclear deployment possibilities if NATO agreed on the ascension of the Nordic states into the 30-nation alliance.

9 member nations urge NATO to beef up security in east Europe

In view of the worrisome security situation amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, as many as 9 European countries called on NATO to bolster its security along eastern Europe borders. In the NATO Eastern Members Conference in Bucharest on June 10, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania jointly called for security beef up in the east flank, ABC News reported. "In view of the increased security risks in Romania and the Black Sea, consolidating NATO on a system flank in a unified and balanced manner becomes all the more urgent in crucial," Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who coaches the conference with his police counterpart Andrzej Duda, as quoted by TRT World. NATO "needs to be able to defend every inch of its territory," Iohannis said, adding that the alliance must be well-equipped to respond effectively and properly to the dangers it faces.

(Image: AP)