Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu of Russia announced that the country will expand its military operations to western parts of the world including the Gulf of Mexico, according to Associated Press.
According to the government official, the expansion includes military drills that involve deploying bomber planes near United States territory.
Shoigu said the plan is to demonstrate the country's military power to other nations.
"In the current situation we have to maintain [Russia's] military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific, as well as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico," the defense minister announced.
Apart from these areas, Shoigu added that the bomber planes will conduct patrols near the Arctic region, which includes parts of Canada and Alaska, CNN reported.
He noted that Russia plans to execute the expansion of the operations by 2015.
Shoigu admitted that the plan was formed in response to the actions taken by NATO and the U.S. against Russia regarding its conflict with Ukraine.
"In many respects, this is connected with the situation in Ukraine, with fomentation of anti-Russian moods on the part of NATO and reinforcement of foreign military presence next to our border," he said.
Despite the potential threat to the U.S., the government maintained that it is not worried about Russia stretching its military power.
"We don't not see the security environment as warranting such provocative and potentially destabilizing activity," a senior official of President Barrack Obama's administration said.
Jen Psaki, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, questioned the need for Russia to expand its military presence in the areas Shoigu mentioned in his announcement.
"We don't think there is a current situation in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific or the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico that warrants additional flights in out-of-area territory," she said.
Center for Strategic and International Studies fellow and former U.S. State Department adviser Jeffrey Mankoff noted the Shoigu's announcement reflects Russia's attempt to imitate what the U.S. is doing in Ukraine.
"It's kind of a reciprocity," he explained to CNN. "They see us trying to muscle in on what they see as part of their sphere of influence. [Russia is likely thinking], "If they can do it to us, we can do it to them."
