Nato\\\'s Europe plans alarm Russia

Moscow is pressing Nato to explain its plans to beef up military presence in Eastern Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. "We not only expect answers, but answers... based fully on respect for the rules we agreed on," he said. Nato earlier said it would reinforce the alliance's defences in Eastern Europe following Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Nato also halted all civilian and military co-operation with Russia. Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region was the gravest threat to European security for a generation. Moscow is believed to have massed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine's border. Nato planners are currently looking at options including situating permanent military bases in the Baltic states to reassure members in Eastern Europe, according to BBC.