Moscow, July 14 (RHC)-- Russia has lambasted NATO for expanding its presence in the Baltic states near Russia, saying the U.S.-led alliance is fomenting a Cold-War atmosphere.

NATO held a summit in the Polish capital, Warsaw, last week, when member states approved plans to deploy additional forces -- four battalions totaling up to 4,000 troops -- to northeastern Europe on a rotating basis to support Eastern European member states against perceived threats from Russia.

Speaking after talks with NATO in the Belgian capital of Brussels on Wednesday, Alexander Grushko, Russias permanent representative to NATO, called such measures “confrontational.”  He said that the measures "are superfluous and counterproductive."

NATO and Russia had held their first meeting since bilateral relations soured over the crisis in Ukraine in April.  That meeting reportedly ended in deep disagreements on the Ukrainian crisis and the accession of new states to NATO.