The Kremlin assessed on Tuesday that NATO is on the path of unrestrained militarization and insists on portraying Russia as a “demon from hell” in order to justify the increase in defense spending.
NATO leaders, who are gathering at a two-day summit in the Netherlands, warn that Russia could attack a NATO member state in the next few years if it is not stopped from overrunning Ukraine.
Russia denies that it plans to attack NATO, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it is almost pointless to try to convince NATO of that, as it is determined to demonize Russia.
“This is an alliance created for confrontation… It is not an instrument for peace and stability,” he said, noting that NATO intends to convince member states to commit to spending 5 percent of their GDP on defense, as demanded by the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump.
“The alliance is certainly walking the path of unrestrained militarization,” Peskov said.
In order to push through the defense spending goal of five percent, NATO needs to evoke a demonic threat, he added.
“To do that, you need the image of a demon from hell, a monster. And those NATO officials consider our country the most suitable for that role of the monster.”
NATO emphasizes that its stance on Russia is realistic and based on evidence of the war Moscow has been waging in Ukraine since February 2022.
With this week’s summit, NATO wants to send a signal to Putin that it is united, despite earlier criticisms from Trump towards it, and that it is determined to strengthen and improve its defense to deter any attack from Moscow.
In a speech on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused NATO of overstepping the framework of its traditional tasks in order to gain a foothold in the Middle East, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, the Arctic, and the Asia-Pacific region.
He said that Russian-Chinese relations are “an important stabilizer” of Euro-Asian security.
