POLYANSKIY: ALLIANCE’S MILITARY PRESENCE AT COLD WAR LEVELS

MOSCOW, May 21 /SRNA/ - The military presence of NATO near Russian borders has escalated to levels seen during the Cold War, said Russian envoy to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Dmitry Polyanskiy.

"We are observing that NATO’s military activity near our borders has reached Cold War-era levels. So far, there has been no reason to hope for prudence from our European neighbours, and everything that is happening suggests that, until there is a sharp military response from our side, their militaristic arrogance will not diminish," Polyanskiy said during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council.

He added that Kaliningrad could become a very powerful detonator.

Polyanskiy recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin had already warned that any attempted blockade of Kaliningrad, Russia’s westernmost region, would lead to unprecedented escalation.

"Do you want to test our resolve? Go ahead, but do not later say that we did not warn you," Polyanskiy said.

Kaliningrad is a city in the far west of the Russia , the administrative centre and largest city of the Kaliningrad region, a Russian exclave located between Poland to the south and Lithuania to the north and east.