Russia: new European missile crisis must be avoided before it's too late

MOSCOW - Russia warned on Friday of the danger of a new missile crisis in Europe that it said had to be avoided before it was too late, and blamed the United States and NATO for expanding their military capabilities in eastern Europe.

The comments by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov at a news briefing in Moscow came amid soaring tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine and a Russian troop build-up near its borders.