Russia: No Plans to Strike NATO, But Will Retaliate If Attacked

By Staff, Agencies

Spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said it has no plans to attack NATO but is ready to respond to any aggression from alliance members.

At a press briefing in Moscow on Friday, Maria Zakharova stated, “We will repeat over and over again that we have no plans to attack NATO countries.

“However, Russia is already taking all the necessary measures to ensure security as the alliance is building up its military presence near Russian borders ... In short, we are prepared for any developments, but we prioritize peace, friendship, and equal cooperation,” Zakharova noted.

Zakharova’s remarks were in response to German Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank, who said earlier this month, without providing evidence, that Russia has the intention and the “capabilities and combat power to kick off a small-scale attack against NATO territory as early as tomorrow.”

According to the diplomat, the statements issued by officials from NATO member states are part of an orchestrated campaign to condition their own populations, sow fear, and make people accept the idea that a conflict with Russia is unavoidable.

The aim, she said, is to justify their own miscalculations, failures, and even crimes, while explaining away the disastrous economic processes currently underway in their countries and evading any responsibility.

“If NATO strategists are crazy enough to decide to attack Russia, they should have no doubt that we will respond using every capability we have, something the Russian leadership has said repeatedly,” she warned.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said late last month that Moscow is ready to give a non-aggression guarantee to NATO and EU countries.

“We have repeatedly stated that we do not and have never intended to attack any of the current members of NATO or the EU,” Lavrov said at a Eurasian security forum in Minsk, Belarus.

“We are ready to stake this position on future security guarantees for this part of Eurasia,” he said, according to a transcript provided by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He said that meaningful dialogue with EU leaders is impossible because they refuse to offer “genuine collective security guarantees,” that is, guarantees not only against Russia but with Russia, after the conflict in Ukraine ends.

The conflict in Ukraine began in 2022, after years of Western political and military interference in Kiev, which resulted in regional instability along the Russian border, forcing Moscow to intervene to preserve its national interests.