Russia to increase its military presence in Crimea – Grushko

Russia intends to strengthen its military group in Crimea, Russian permanent envoy to NATO Alexander Grushko said on Friday.

"Naturally, we will be partially increasing our [military] presence in Crimea, bearing in mind that the NATO countries have recently increased their activities near our national borders," he said during a Brussels-Moscow televised linkup.

The Russian diplomat said all actions taken by Russia in Crimea are fully in line with its international obligations.

"We are not breaching anything, there are no bans on the placement of specific weapons systems there," Grushko said.