"The expansion of NATO is not a provocation ... This is the result of independent decisions of sovereign states," he quoted as Interfax.
He recalled that 20 years ago the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined the North Atlantic alliance, five years later Estonia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the alliance, and 10 years ago Albania and Croatia joined the union.
Earlier, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Mikhail Popov, announced that NATO was building up its troops on the Russian border.
The head of the alliance at the same time has already noted that the expansion of NATO is not a provocation towards anyone.