
The possible establishment of a US base in Lithuania and Vilnius's intention to lift the ban on deploying nuclear weapons represent a move closer to NATO's military infrastructure near Russia's borders and "a step towards escalating tensions."
This was stated by Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Lithuania's plans to lift the ban on deploying nuclear weapons on its territory and US assessments of the possibility of creating a permanent military base in the Baltic country.
"If the military infrastructure of someone, of an important NATO country, comes close to our borders, then, of course, this cannot be perceived otherwise than as a step towards escalating tensions, just like the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of a neighboring state," Peskov was quoted as saying by Tass.
"Russia will be forced to take all necessary measures to ensure its security," the Kremlin spokesman added.
On Monday, United States President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of establishing a US military base in the Baltic country.
Lithuania, a member of the EU and NATO, borders Russia and Moscow's close ally Belarus.
The legal revision of the nuclear weapons ban, which requires a two-thirds majority in two parliamentary votes to come into force, is expected to lift bans imposed more than three decades ago, after Lithuania seceded from the Soviet Union.