Moscow considers the statement by NATO Military Committee Chairman Giuseppe Cavo Dragone regarding the possibility of launching preemptive strikes against Russia an extremely irresponsible step, demonstrating the alliance's readiness to move towards escalation. This is stated in a comment by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The diplomat drew attention to Dragone's recent interview with the Financial Times, in which he claimed NATO supposedly needs to act “more aggressively” and that preemptive strikes could be considered “defensive.” Zakharova characterized his words as an “extremely irresponsible step” that reveals the alliance's readiness for further escalation. “We see in it a deliberate attempt to undermine efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. Those making statements of this kind must be aware of the ensuing risks and potential consequences, including for the alliance members themselves,” she noted.
According to the diplomat, NATO has long ceased to conceal its true goals and intentions, while its leadership continues to baselessly accuse Moscow of “bellicose nuclear rhetoric” and hybrid attacks.
Zakharova emphasized that “against the backdrop of the anti-Russian hysteria whipped up by the alliance and the stoking of fear over Russia's 'imminent attack' on bloc members, such statements do not merely add fuel to the fire but seriously inflame the existing confrontation.”
“In Brussels, they are fond of repeating the mantra about the alliance's 'purely defensive' nature. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone's self-revealing remarks about 'preemptive strikes' put a definitive end to this mythology,” she concluded.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS