Moscow, March 31 (RHC-Agencies)-- Russia promised Wednesday a “totally asymmetrical” response to NATO’s plan to deploy more troops to eastern Europe in order to counter what the alliance calls “Russian aggression,” Moscow’s envoy to NATO Aleksandr Grushko said in an interview.

“We are not passive observers, we consistently take all the military measures we consider necessary in order to counterbalance this reinforced presence that is not justified by anything,” Grushko said in an interview with TV channel Rossiya-24, according to Russia Today.

The Russian diplomat said that such moves by the United States and NATO in eastern Europe constitutes a military threat to Russia, adding that Moscow’s response “would not be extremely expensive, but highly effective.”

However, the Russian diplomat said the new measure by the alliance has yet to completely damage the fragile ties between Moscow and NATO, expressing hope for future security cooperation.

“Cooperation will be possible only when NATO countries start realizing that the policy of confrontation contradicts their own national interests,” Grushko said, adding: “We hope that sooner or later all the ties, which we used to have and which used to be effective, will be re-established and our cooperation will continue.”