Putin, Lavrov Reject NATO Claims as Macron Calls for Rebuilding Trust
Europe must begin thinking about the terms of a future dialogue with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague.
Photo: Openverse by Пресс-служба Президента Российской Федерации,
French President Emmanuel Macron
According to the French leader, European countries cannot remain “in a state of constant escalation, endlessly increasing their armament.”
“Today we must rearm, because we are behind Russia in terms of military capabilities. But at the same time, we must consider security guarantees for ourselves and the security architecture we want to live in tomorrow,” Macron stated.
He believes that such guarantees should include limits on the spread and quantity of weapons, similar to the arrangements that existed during the Cold War.
“That is why we must all reconsider how far we are willing to go to defend ourselves, and under what conditions a dialogue with Russia could take place-one that allows us to limit damage and begin restoring trust,” he concluded.
Putin Calls NATO Narrative Incredible Lies
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called claims that Russia plans to attack NATO an “incredible lie.” The Kremlin has stated that NATO countries are portraying Russia as a “monster” in order to justify setting a base defense spending level of 5% of GDP for alliance members.
Lavrov: NATO Destroys Global Security Architecture
The global security architecture is being destroyed by NATO’s policies, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. According to him, significant harm has been done to the international system of strategic stability by the United States, which withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), dismantled the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), and is now casting doubt on the future of the New START Treaty. Washington also refuses to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and has lowered the threshold for nuclear weapons use in its doctrinal documents.
Russia also amended its own nuclear doctrine in 2024. The Kremlin explained that the revisions serve to warn Western nations about the consequences of participating in an attack on Russia-“using various means, not necessarily nuclear.”
Lavrov has previously stated that once relations between Russia and European countries are restored, issues of security guarantees will need to be addressed. However, he added that Moscow would “think seriously” before resuming relations with Western nations, even if they themselves propose doing so.
