Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Thursday that Russia does not see NATO's military rearmament as a threat, stating that the nation is quite capable of defending its own national security.
The remarks were made during a discussion with leaders of major global news organizations in St. Petersburg.
We do not consider any NATO rearmament a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are independent in terms of ensuring our own security," Putin said, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
He pointed out that Russia is further enhancing its own defense systems:
"Whatever NATO does, of course, poses some risks, but we are perfectly able to neutralise all emerging threats. There is no doubt about that.
Putin criticised increasing defence spending across the NATO alliance, asking what logic underlay such actions.
"Any rearmament or increasing budgets to five per cent of GDP by NATO countries makes no sense," he stated.
His comments followed reports of ongoing discussions among NATO members about boosting defence budgets. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently suggested that all NATO countries may commit to increasing defence spending to five per cent of their GDP over the next decade.
The Russian President dismissed Western accusations of Russian aggression as baseless:
“The legend that Russia is going to attack NATO is nonsense,” he said.
He also drew attention to the magnitude of NATO's defence spending, asserting that they exceed the remaining world's combined militaries' budgets.
"NATO member states spend $1.4 trillion on defence, which is more than all the rest of the world's nations together," Putin said.
He continued to berate what he termed Western double standards in world governance:
"You write rules for others, but you yourself are not going to execute them. Who will live by such rules?
Putin's comments follow heightened tensions between Russia and NATO, driven by the continued conflict in Ukraine, NATO's military build-up in Eastern Europe, and the alliance's debates on long-term strategic commitments.
Reiterating Russia's position, he went on to say:
"We will counter all threats that arise. There is no doubt about that."
Since the start of its all-out invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, Russia has positioned the war as part of a larger conflict with NATO. Meanwhile, Kyiv has kept pressing for security guarantees from the alliance as a condition for any possible peace agreement.
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