The foreign minister said Moscow would retaliate with full force against a potential aggression from the West
Russia will not attack EU or NATO member states unless it is attacked first, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Western officials have justified increased military spending by citing the need to defend NATO’s eastern flank. Germany’s top military commander, General Carsten Breuer, said in December 2025 that the country must be ready for a potential war with Russia by 2029. Moscow has accused the West of warmongering.
“We have no intention of attacking Europe. There is no reason to do so,” Lavrov told NTV in an interview aired on Sunday.
“If Europe acts on its threats to prepare for war against us and initiates an attack on the Russian Federation, it will face a full-fledged military response from our side, with all available military capabilities,” he said.
At a year-end press conference in December, President Vladimir Putin dismissed claims that Russia was planning to attack NATO as “nonsense.”
Russian officials have said, however, that Western military aid to Ukraine, including the delivery of long-range and advanced weapons, increases the risk of a broader conflict.
Moscow has also accused the EU of seeking to derail US-brokered peace talks with Ukraine and prolong the fighting.
