NATO chief: alliance watching Russian troops near Ukraine

BERLIN (AP) — NATO’s chief says the alliance is closely monitoring an unusual concentration of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine. Jens Stoltenberg warned Friday that similar troops were used by Moscow in the past to intervene in neighboring countries. Speaking at a defense seminar in Berlin, Stoltenberg said NATO had seen a significant military buildup by Russia close to the borders of Ukraine lately. Moscow provided military support to separatists in the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia and later to breakaway groups in Ukraine. The NATO chief also spoke about China, saying it aims to “have the most advanced and strongest military capabilities within a few decades.”