NATO has returned to Cold War priorities and wants to keep Russians out of Europe, and the entire European Union is now under U.S. control, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference on European security issues on Thursday.

Lavrov said big problems had accumulated in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and "the West is trying to privatize and seize OSCE, and the OSCE is becoming a marginal entity."

Since the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation was signed in 1997, NATO has violated its own commitments more than once and rejected Russia's proposal to enhance mutual trust between the two sides, which has led to escalating tensions in the region, Lavrov said in response to a question from a China Media Group (CMG) reporter.

At the same time, NATO has continued to advance its defense line to the Asia-Pacific region, creating regional tensions, he said.

There is no immediate response from NATO and the OSCE.