MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian General Staff head said that the number of NATO exercises had almost doubled in 2014.
"While in previous years the issues of crisis settlement and counteraction to terrorism were central at drills, today the priority is military action against a simulated enemy, which could easily be guessed as the Russian Federation," Gerasimov said.
NATO accuses Russia of aggressive foreign policy to justify its own existence and expansion, head of the Russian General Staff said.
"Accusing Russia of aggressive policy on the post-Soviet space and the idea on the need of its [Russia's] containment have become the driving force of NATO."
The defense official added that NATO extensively used the crisis in Ukraine to stir up its activities.
The deployment of US anti-missile defense systems in Europe is yet another step of the United States and its allies at reaching global supremacy and destroying the current system of international security, Russian General Staff head Valery Gerasimov said Thursday.
During an international conference on security, Army General Gerasimov said that this was "one more significant military threats to the Russian Federation and is a growing problem in maintaining the strategic stability in the world."
"In line with this, the deployment of US global anti-missile defense systems is seen by us as an additional step by the United States and its allies to destroy the current system of international security in its striving for world domination."
"It appears there’s a civilian war going on in Ukraine, the victims of which have become thousands of people. It’s difficult to foresee how this will all end. We don’t know what kind of orders the new Ukrainian authorities are receiving from Western ‘curators’ and where Kiev’s aggression may be directed in the future," Gerasimov said.
He added that this vagueness did not exclude a military threat toward Russia.
Cruise missiles deployed by US naval ships threaten all Russian European territory, Valery Gerasimov said.
"Deployment of anti-missile systems is a breach on the part of the United States of one of the most important agreements ensuring strategic stability in Europe — the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty," he said at an international security conference.
The defense official added that he was talking about the naval MK 41 Vertical Launching system, which can employ cruise missiles, as apart from the RIM-161 Standard Missile 3.
Russia is expanding the potential of its military bases in Abkhazia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and other countries to maintain stability in these regions, Valery Gerasimov said.
"Within the framework of long-term agreements with Abkhazia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and South Ossetia, the potential of Russian military bases, located on their territories, is being expanded. They [the Russian bases] are the main guarantor of security and strategic stability in these regions," the defense official said at an international security conference.
Russian strategic nuclear forces are maintained at a level that guarantees nuclear deterrence, Valery Gerasimov said.
"Modern missile systems that can effectively overcome the defense in depth enter service. Strategic bombers and submarines fleet is being modernized. The newest submarine missile cruisers are being enrolled."
He noted that Russian Federation aerospace defense continues to improve. Russia has launched a self-contained group of forces in the Crimea to protect the "integrity and inviolability of its territory."
"Today's security challenges of our country are not left without adequate response. Measures taken in this regard allow to guarantee protection of Russian interests."
The conference comes on the back of Russia's deteriorating relations with NATO over Moscow's alleged role in the Ukraine crisis and increased NATO presence in Eastern Europe.
