On October 30, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken spoke to clarify his controversial statement that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO) could eras Moscows book off the map, asserting that this was just a way of expressing within the framework of the military alliances deterrent schools.
Earlier, in an interview with the De Morgen daily, Mr. Francken ignored concerns that the supply of US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine could put Russia in direct confrontation with NATO.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin will not use nuclear weapons, because the US-led bloc could erase Moscow from the map, stressing that if Brussels is attacked, the Russian capital will also be flattened.
This statement immediately caused a backlash from Russia. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko called this a typical manifestation of the militarycracy engulfing Western Europe, while the Russian Embassy in Belgium described Mr. Franckens statement as unreasonable and separate from reality.
In response to the criticism, Minister Francken posted on social media, along with a photo of the article by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev - who had previously mocked him and congratulated Russia's "friends" on the successful test of Poseidon nuclear drones.
In the post, Mr. Francken affirmed that NATO does not have a war with Russia and does not want it, emphasizing that the alliance is defined as a defensive organization. He said the counterattack if attacked principle has existed for the past 76 years and is the foundation of NATOs deterrence strategy.
Thats what I wanted to say in the interview and I didnt take any of those words back, he wrote.
Moscow has long considered the conflict in Ukraine to be a NATO proxy war against Russia, and warned that the continued transfer of weapons to Kiev by the West would only prolong the conflict and not change the outcome.
