The head of the Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe General Curtis Scaparrotti met in Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday. Gerasimov raised an issue of the strengthening of NATO’s advanced military presence near Russia’s borders, “which does not contribute to reducing tensions,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. The two sides also informed each other about the most important operational training activities planned for 2019. At a separate meeting with the Russian delegation headed by Gerasimov, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev earlier on Wednesday thanked Moscow for choosing Baku to host a meeting between the top military commanders from Russia and NATO, TASS reports. Relations between Baku and Moscow have been successfully developing in every field, including the defense area, Aliyev said.