Western nations increasing military presence near Russian border despite absence of threats - Shoigu

MOSCOW. March 11 (Interfax) - Western nations are increasing their military presence near the Russian border although there are absolutely no threats to them, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

"The General Staff has analyzed every step taken by the West to continue its military buildup near our western border," Shoigu told Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with permanent members of the Russian Security Council.

"Every day new units are coming in and are being deployed although there is absolutely no threat to them," Shoigu said.

"They [Western nations] are taking advantage of the situation and seek to deploy the maximum number of forces and hardware on our border and, definitely, keep them there for a long time," he said.