General Jean-Paul Palomeros, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, said here on Wednesday that NATO has recently been flexing muscles near Russia border to showcase its ability of collective defense.

The high-ranking NATO official made the statement at a press conference while answering questions by Xinhua on whether he sees any threat coming from Russia and whether he regards the increased military trainings near the Russian border as any form of response to such an eventual threat.

Palomeros said it is very clear that the "annexation of Crimea by Russia is not acceptable".

"So, the situation now, as we see the risk growing, is such that NATO has taken some measures just to make sure that it is ready in any case against any kind of threat to answer to its key mission -- collective defense, and that couldn't be any misunderstanding, any misconception, by any single country," Palomeros said.

"NATO is showing its strong will and strong commitment to maintaining peace, security and freedom for all its members," he said.

The press conference was held after the opening ceremony of NATO's Strategic Military Partner Conference an annual event attended by Chiefs of Defense or their representatives from 53 member states of NATO, Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative and Partners across the Globe.

"In the context of general reports, events around the world including what is happening in Ukraine are also discussed," Bulgarian Chief of Defense General Simeon Simeonov said in response to a remark that his Ukrainian counterpart also participates in the event.

Ukraine still remains more than ever a strong partner for NATO, and NATO remain a strong partner for Ukraine, Palomeros added. Endi

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