Russia is hoping that NATO will not go on expanding to the East and reach a compromise on the issue at the coming Russian-NATO summit in Lisbon scheduled for Nov. 19-20, said on Tuesday Russia's ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin.
"We have strong demands for NATO to stop its expansion to the East, as Russia has seen the alliance's military infrastructure has been developing in areas adjacent to our western borders," Rogozin was quoted by a Russian state TV channel as saying.
He said Russia hopes to reach a compromise with NATO on the issue, adding that NATO should "digest" what it had got during the past decade.
A Russian military doctrine approved by President Dmitry Medvedev in February defines NATO enlargement and the deployment of missile defense systems as main external threats of war Russia is facing.
NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will visit Russia on Wednesday and discuss the European missile defense project with Medvedev.