NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L), British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) welcome U.S. President Donald Trump at the official arrivals for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) Summit in London, Britain on Dec. 4, 2019. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

Russia's security and parity in terms of strategic stability are guaranteed for years to come, Peskov said.

MOSCOW, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The plans of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to increase military expenditure confirmed Russia's concerns about the expansionist activities of the alliance, the Kremlin said Wednesday.

"Despite some very pragmatic statements about the need to build relations with Russia and take a sober look at the issue where the threat to NATO comes from, we see that NATO is mainly engaged in activities of restraint and expansionism," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He recalled that President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Russia will not get involved in an arms race detrimental to the country's economy.

Russia's security and parity in terms of strategic stability are guaranteed for years to come, Peskov said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier that since 2016, European members of the bloc and Canada have added 130 billion U.S. dollars to the defense budget and this number will increase to 400 billion by 2024. ■