Europe would probably be safer without NATO, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. She compared the North Atlantic Alliance to a “bad tooth” and accused the organisation of weakening security in Europe and around the world.
“If NATO did not exist, that is, if the alliance had not performed and did not continue to perform the role it has played, security in Europe would probably be much greater,” Zakharova said.
According to her, NATO is the organisation that, “like a bad tooth”, has weakened the “immune system” of Western and Central Europe and the entire world. Zakharova said that the alliance demands and spends enormous resources on countermeasures.
The statement comes amid a dispute over a new security architecture
The comment was made against the backdrop of diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine and Russian calls to discuss a new security architecture in Europe. On 10 November, representatives of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the United States and NATO met in Abu Dhabi.
Following the talks, the participants reaffirmed their commitment to a strong post-war security system and said that NATO would remain central to Euro-Atlantic collective defence.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejected the idea of discussing European security in a separate format with Russia. He said that Europe already had the necessary structure in the form of NATO and that the continent’s security would continue to be guaranteed by a strong and united alliance.
European countries insist on participating in decisions
European leaders said that the future of continental security could not be decided without the participation of the European countries themselves. They warned that Russia’s insistence on revising the security framework could lead to NATO’s role in Eastern Europe being curtailed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also warned that discussions on a new European framework could be used to weaken NATO and change the continent’s borders and security rules.
So far, no agreement has been reached on changing Europe’s security architecture. The dispute remains part of broader diplomatic discussions surrounding the war in Ukraine and future security guarantees.
Sources: vijesti.hrt.hr, dawn.com, apnews.com