Russia has been bristling with the latest accession of seven Eastern European nations into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), wary of the creeping proximity of the 55-year-old military alliance.

Monday's entry of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia shifted NATO's military influence eastward to Russia's border.

Fearing that NATO's enlargement will significantly change the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe and endamage its national security, Russia has warned to take steps to defend itself if the alliance's push is perceived as a menace.

A Foreign Ministry statement released on Monday said Russia is forced to take very serious note of NATO's enlargement, which has an undoubted effect on its political, military and economic interests.

"NATO's steps have had an unfriendly character toward Russia," said Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the international affairs committee in the State Duma, or lower house of the Russian parliament.

He warned that Russia might take corresponding actions if NATO significantly deploys military bases near Russia's borders and change the balance of forces in the region.

Russia is particularly concerned about the inclusion of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all are former Soviet republics which could be used now as a base for NATO troops.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko on Tuesday defined the patrolling by NATO planes of the air space of the three Baltic countries as unnecessary, saying it was an outdated measure used in the Cold War era.

Gen. Anatoly Kornukov, a former Russian Air Force commander, even suggested shooting down NATO planes if they violate the air space.

Yakovenko said Russia would work to ensure the earliest possible joining by Slovenia and the three Baltic nations of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, which regulates the deployment of warplanes, tanks and other heavy non-nuclear weapons.

Russia has been struggling against NATO's eastward expansion, believing that there is no need for the existence of the alliance that was set up during the Cold War to confront the former Soviet Union.

Failing to hold back the US-dominated alliance's bold move, Russia chose to build partnership with NATO and change its military nature. But Moscow was frustrated that it was given no decision-making power in the NATO-Russia Council set up in 2002 and could impose little influence in the organization's vital affairs.

Fearing that NATO's expansion, also a major step taken by the United States to increase its power in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), would impair its traditional interests in the region, Russia has made efforts in promoting cooperation among CIS member states and consolidating security defense within the bloc.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia's prior tasks at present include boosting national development and accelerating military modernization. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has hinted to revise military doctrines and take preemptive acts under special circumstances. Series of military exercises held in recent years are seen as an apparent demonstration to the world that Russia is still a strong world power.

Showing its firm stand and military might, Russia has been trying to solve the issue via flexible diplomatic strategies, which is a better way-out that does not directly confront the parties involved.

"Russia is determined to continue its diverse political work in order to create a system of European security that would take into account and guarantee the interests of all states," Yakovenko pledged.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2004)