- ‘We see that the European Union is now actively discussing the militarization of the EU and the development of the defense segment’
- ‘This is a process that we are watching closely, because the EU is positioning Russia as its main adversary’
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia may need to act to respond to what it called European Union plans to militarize the bloc that cast Russia as its main adversary.
European leaders on Thursday backed plans to spend more on defense and continue to stand by Ukraine in a world upended by Donald Trump’s reversal of US policies.
“We see that the European Union is now actively discussing the militarization of the EU and the development of the defense segment. This is a process that we are watching closely, because the EU is positioning Russia as its main adversary,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“This, of course, could potentially be a topic of deep concern for us and there could be a need to take appropriate measures in response to ensure our security.
“And, of course, such confrontational rhetoric and confrontational thinking that we are now seeing in Brussels and in European capitals is, seriously at odds with the mood for finding a peaceful settlement around Ukraine.”