Moscow reacted sharply to Lithuania's comments about the military vulnerability of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, DPA reported, citing a statement by Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, BTA reports.
In the Baltic states, quite limited politicians imbued with Russophobia are now in power, the Kremlin spokesman, who is in Beijing as part of the delegation accompanying President Putin, said today.
Unfortunately, the Baltic states are now taking a maniacally anti-Russian position, which prevents them from acting in their own interests, Peskov added, quoted by TASS.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budris recently gave an interview to the Swiss newspaper "Neue Zürcher Aitung", speaking about the threat posed by Russia and Belarus. He advocated strong deterrence by NATO and called on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to launch an attack on Kaliningrad, DPA recalls.
When asked about Kaliningrad, Budris replied: "We need to show the Russians that we can penetrate the little fortress they have built in Kaliningrad. NATO has the means to completely destroy Russian air defense and missile bases there in the event of an emergency.
This was a direct call for an attack on a sovereign state and undermines European stability, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The Russian region of Kaliningrad remains an important military base with missile systems whose weapons are capable of reaching the entire Baltic Sea region.
The remarks come amid tensions between the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Russia over numerous drone incidents. They include Ukrainian drones entering Baltic airspace while approaching Russian targets in the Gulf of Finland.
Moscow accuses the Baltic states of allowing their territory to be used for Ukrainian attacks - a claim that officials in the Baltic capitals strongly reject.