Moscow : Washington is "initiating a new arms race" by deploying large-scale troops to Europe, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

The US military build-up in Europe has "a powerful potential for destroying the entire architecture of European security ... threatening to trigger long-term destructive consequences in the Euro-Atlantic region," Zakharova said on Monday.

Washington is trying to impose a confrontational model of relations reminiscent of the Cold War, she added.

According to her, earlier this month the US transferred to Poland an armored brigade, consisting of about 4,000 troops and 2,500 combat hardware units.

Starting in January, 300 US marines will be deployed to a Norwegian base. In late March, a US air brigade is expected to be deployed to Germany, and a battalion tactical group will be deployed to Poland in April.-IANS