Moscow: NATO poses one of the 'key threats' to Russia's national security, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said in remarks published Tuesday, warning that the alliance's militarization and European Union defense buildup risk undermining global stability.
According to Anadolu Agency, Shoigu, in an interview with Russian daily Kommersant, referred to the recent NATO summit as 'Trump's summit' and accused European states of succumbing to US pressure to increase their defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035. He criticized several EU countries for allegedly masking civilian infrastructure projects as military investments.
Shoigu alleged that Europeans have turned deception into a strategy, pretending to comply with Trump's demands while redirecting defense budgets to civilian projects like roads, bridges, and ports. He pointed to Italy's planned Sicily bridge as an example of this strategy.
He further detailed that NATO's arsenal includes over 50,000 armored vehicles, 7,000 aircraft, and 750 ships, with satellite systems being utilized against Russia, particularly in the conflict in Ukraine. Shoigu expressed concern over the EU's intentions to fund its military expansion by cutting social services and utilizing frozen Russian assets.
Shoigu accused Washington of shifting much of the financial burden of supporting Ukraine onto Europe, highlighting a planned 800 billion pounds (USD 870 billion) in military spending by 2030 under the EU's 'Readiness 2030' strategy. He criticized the West for manipulating statistics to portray the military buildup as moderate, while the real economic impact was causing 'economic ruin and deception' among NATO members.
He also condemned the EU's plan to use interest earned from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, calling it an act of theft. Shoigu cited Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, and now Russia as examples of the West's habit of seizing other nations' assets.
In spite of his criticisms, Shoigu stated that Russia remains open to dialogue with Europe and emphasized President Vladimir Putin's call for establishing a new Eurasian security system.