The Russian president has dismissed Western rhetoric about the threat posed by Moscow to the US-led military bloc as an “inconceivable lie”
Russia does not consider NATO rearmament to be a threat, President Vladimir Putin has told journalists on the sidelines of the 28th annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Certain threats could arise from the US-led military bloc’s actions, but Russia is ready to address any challenges to national security, Putin said at a Q&A session early Thursday, adding that any increase in defense spending by NATO would not make a difference.
“We do not consider any NATO rearmament to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our own security, and we are constantly improving our armed forces and our defense capabilities,” he stated.
The president added that Russia “will mitigate all the threats that may arise.”
Putin dismissed the rhetoric about the threat posed by Russia to NATO as an “inconceivable lie” used by Western governments to justify tax increases and the diversion of public funds to the military-industrial complex.
“A Nazi propagandist once said that the more incredible the lie, the faster people will believe it. This legend that Russia is planning to attack Europe, the NATO countries, is the same inconceivable lie,” Putin said. “Everyone understands that this is nonsense. And they deceive their population to ensure the extraction of money from the budget… and to explain failures in the economy.”
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