MOSCOW. Jan 27 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia will not increase its border force in the northwest in connection with NATO's enlargement after the Alliance's Prague summit of November, said Colonel General Konstantin Totsky, director of the Federal Border Guard Service.
"There is no need to enlarge the border force in connection with the NATO enlargement," he said at a news conference in Moscow on Monday.
Reinforcing border troops in the Russian northwest is unnecessary now that Russia and NATO are working together more actively, he said.
"The border guards will not fight against NATO. We will not fight against anyone. Why should we send thousands of border guards armed with assault rifles there during peacetime?" the general wondered.
The Federal Border Guard Service relies on support from the Armed Forces in case the threat of an aggression against Russia emerges, he said. In particular, Russian border guards and Defense Ministry units are interacting smoothly in protecting the Chechen section of the Russian-Georgian border.
Responding to questions, Totsly said that the Federal Border Guard Service is interacting closely with border guard services of northern European nations. In particular, "we have the closest cooperation" with Finland and Sweden, and border guard cooperation with Norway is established on the regional level, he noted.