Russian FM slams NATO's preemptive strike remarks as irresponsible, self-serving

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has responded to recent comments by NATO officials suggesting the possibility of preemptive strikes against Russia, describing such statements as a tactic to attract attention.

Lavrov expressed his belief that these remarks were made by politicians seeking to serve their personal interests and gain public attention, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

He specifically criticized the comments of a NATO admiral, calling them "absolutely irresponsible." He further suggested that many of those making such statements were individuals who had never experienced combat but wore military insignia and were eager to advance their careers by capitalizing on current geopolitical trends.

Earlier, during a conference at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, chair of NATO's Military Committee, Rob Bauer, advocated for the production of more precision-guided weapons capable of striking deep inside Russia in the event of a conflict.

During a question-and-answer session after his address at the European Policy Center, Bauer said, "The idea was we are a defensive alliance, so we will only sit and wait until we are attacked, and then when we are attacked, we will be able to shoot down the 'arrows' that come to us," referring to a Russian strike.

He also said that when responding to any attack, it would be "smarter" to "attack the archer, that is...Russia—if Russia attacks us. So you need to have a combination of deep precision (strikes) with which you can take out the weapons systems that are used to attack us."

Lavrov responded by asserting that NATO had discarded all notions of decency by publicly revealing its true intentions.

By Vafa Guliyeva