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The North Atlantic Alliance's attempts to expand its presence in the Caucasus are "visible to the naked eye," TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as telling reporters on Tuesday.

"NATO's wish to assert its presence in the Caucasus is well known to us. Its attempts are visible to the naked eye. Also, there is an understanding that, in fact, NATO's attempts to somehow expand its influence and presence are hardly capable of adding to stability in the Caucasus and predictability of the situation," he said, while commenting on NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's tour of the Caucasus.

At the same time, the Russian leader's spokesman pointed out that the Caucasus countries enjoyed a "sovereign right" to such contacts.

"Of course, we are closely watching them, but we intend to mainly focus on our bilateral relations and cooperation tools that our country maintains with the countries of the region," Peskov added.

Stoltenberg is currently in Yerevan on an official visit. He visited Azerbaijan on Sunday and Georgia on Monday.