NATO's plans to expand joint drills with Japan will only lead to new problems and the risk of escalation in the region. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told reporters in response to a TASS question.

"Such steps will bring nothing but problems and escalation, especially given the complexity of those problems that remain unresolved in this region," the senior diplomat said.

He noted that the Russian side treats such actions negatively, as "this is one of the steps aimed at closer involvement of the North Atlantic Alliance in the affairs of the region, which [are] far beyond NATO's geographical responsibility."

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance favors increasing the scale of joint exercises with Tokyo amid security concerns in Asia and Europe. According to him, this includes sea and air exercises, as well as joint training in the field of cyber security.