MOSCOW. March 29 (Interfax-AVN) - The State Duma will recommend that the situation surrounding NATO expansion towards the Russian border be discussed at a special meeting of the Russian Security Council, Konstantin Kosachyov, the head of the State Duma international affairs committee, told a news conference at Interfax on Monday.
NATO "has recently been taking steps that are unfriendly to Russia," he said.
"If they continue and a considerable NATO grouping appears near the Russian border that changes the balance of forces in the region, Russia should consider the possibility of taking corresponding measures in response to prevent this balance from being destroyed," Kosachyov said.
Speaking about unfriendly steps taken by NATO, Kosachyov said he was referring to "the patrolling of air space over the Baltic states by NATO forces, which is already being conducted now, and the organization of reconnaissance flights along the Russian borders using the territories of the new alliance members."
Kosachyov also cited the structure for the new NATO members' military expenditures, most of which account for weapons and military equipment, "which are obviously defensive."
"The first direct problem and the primary potential threat to Russia's security" is that the NATO countries do not want to ratify the adapted Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), Kosachyov said. "Our requests to clarify this matter are not understood by our NATO colleagues," he said.
"We are getting the impression that it is beneficial for NATO to keep this matter unclear to preserve a 'gray area' (in Europe - Interfax), which will not be governed by any disarmament agreements," he said.
In this connection, "three Duma committees have suggested holding broad parliamentary hearings on the ratification of the adapted CFE Treaty by Russia in April-May," he said.
Kosachyov said he believes that "Russia should ratify the adapted CFE Treaty, regardless of what the NATO countries say about it."
"Firstly, Russia is fulfilling all its obligations under this treaty, and secondly, the actual ratification does not envision any restrictions on Russia until the document has been ratified by all its participants," Kosachyov said.
"At the same time, this move, which even looks more like a political gesture, will help us raise the question of speeding up the ratification of this treaty with NATO," Kosachyov said.
The State Duma's position on NATO expansion will be reflected in a special statement, which will be adopted on Wednesday or Thursday.
The European Parliament's position on NATO expansion does not differ much from that of the majority of NATO countries, even though the European Parliament does want to take Russia's concerns into account. "The majority of the EU population also favor the expansion plans," he said.