Moscow Refuses to Engage in Arms Race with EU, Says Kremlin Spokesman
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskow stated that Moscow would not engage in an arms race with the European Union, following Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s call for the EU to increase its military spending.
Tusk had accused Moscow of starting a new arms race, prompting Europe to react and said that “the war, geopolitical uncertainty and the new arms race, started by Putin, leave Europe no other choice.” He added that “Europe must be ready for this race and Russia will lose like the Soviet Union 40 years ago.” The EU will arm faster than Russia, Tusk predicted.
In a press conference, Peskow expressed regret over such statements, saying, “You will not win against us, because we will not play with you; we will be busy securing our own interests.” He also criticized the confrontational and even militaristic statements from Warsaw and Paris, saying that Europe has not yet adjusted to the new dynamics between Moscow and Washington.
Peskow did not rule out the possibility that European state and government leaders would eventually “feel the wind from the other direction.”
The comments from Tusk followed those of French President Emmanuel Macron, who, in a speech to the nation, claimed that Russia posed a threat to the EU and called for the EU to increase its defense spending and for France’s nuclear shield to be extended to other EU countries.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had previously proposed a massive increase in defense spending, with the EU planning to spend around 800 billion euros on defense, a doubling of the total EU defense spending in 2024, under the “Rearming of Europe” plan.
The demands of European state and government leaders come at a time when the government of US President Donald Trump has recently signaled a fundamental policy shift, calling on European states to take the lead in their own defense and in supporting Kiev.
In the previous month, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth stated that Washington intended to shift its military priorities to the containment of China and warned the EU not to assume that US forces would remain in the region indefinitely.
Moscow has rejected the accusation that it poses a military threat to Europe and has condemned Macron’s statements as “highly confrontational.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the Western claims of an imminent Russian attack as “nonsense” and accused European state and government leaders of inflating the threat to justify higher military spending.
Putin had previously confirmed that Russia had no interest in being drawn into an arms race, but emphasized that Moscow would take all necessary steps to ensure its own security and that of its allies.