NATO attempts to use the Ukraine conflict to divert public attention from worsening economic situation in Europe, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Thursday.

"I'm convinced that NATO has been very glad that the current events in Ukraine lead to new tension in relations with Russia," Rogozin wrote on his Twitter account.

Washington uses the tension to persuade its European allies to buy more American-made weapons, further strengthen NATO existence, and weaken the European Union by cutting its economic ties with Russia, said Rogozin.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused Washington of supporting the "hawks" in Kiev.

"Anti-Russian rhetoric surges at the same time as active attempts to find a political solution are under way, which shows 'the party of war' in Kiev enjoys support from outside, namely from the U.S.," Lavrov told reporters after talks with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev.

"Those who are taking the path of war ... are responsible not only for the continuing bloodshed but also for attempts to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the actions of the current Ukrainian president (Petro Poroshenko)," Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

Leaders of NATO member countries are gathered for a summit in Wales, Britain. The Ukraine crisis, NATO's tasks in Afghanistan, and the rise of extremism and sectarian strife in the Middle East and North Africa are expected to top the agenda.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday that NATO will agree on an action plan to make it more agile than ever to respond to Russia's "aggressive behavior."

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