Russia recalls NATO envoy amid Ukraine crisis

Moscow recalls its Ambassador to NATO
Col. Gen. Valery Yevnevich will return to Moscow in light of NATO's actions, official news agency ITAR-Tass said, citing Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov's remarks to journalists.

"The policy of (deliberately) whipping up tensions is not our choice. Nonetheless, we see no possibility to continue military cooperation with NATO in a routine regime," Antonov is quoted as saying.

He accused NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen of making "confrontational statements" at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers early this week and questioned NATO steps to bolster its presence in Eastern Europe.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow wanted answers from NATO regarding activities in Eastern Europe after the Western military alliance said it would step up defenses for its eastern members.

Russia's move to annex the Crimea region from Ukraine last month has sparked the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War and raised fears among its Eastern European neighbors.

At their meeting, NATO foreign ministers decided the alliance would draw up plans for reinforcing NATO's defenses following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region -- which the West deems illegal.

These would possibly include measures such as sending NATO soldiers and equipment to allies in Eastern Europe, holding more exercises and ensuring NATO's rapid-reaction force could deploy more quickly, a NATO official said. It could also include a possible review of NATO's military plans.

"We have posed these questions to the North Atlantic Alliance. We are expecting not just any answer but an answer fully respectful of the rules we have coordinated," Lavrov told a joint news briefing with his Kazakh counterpart.

Responding to criticism from Kiev and the West over the presence of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine, Lavrov said Russia had the right to move forces on its territory and said they would return to their permanent bases after completing military exercises.