Moscow, March 7, 2025 – The Europe Today: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed claims that Russia is engaging in an arms race with the European Union, following Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s call for increased military spending in the bloc.
Tusk, in a statement on Wednesday, accused Moscow of initiating a new arms race and urged Western Europe to respond. “The war, geopolitical uncertainty, and the arms race launched by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin have left Europe with no choice,” he stated on social media.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Peskov expressed regret over such remarks. “They will not win against us because we will not play their game; we will focus on ensuring our own interests,” he asserted.
Peskov also criticized what he described as confrontational and militaristic rhetoric from Warsaw and Paris, arguing that Europe has yet to adapt to the evolving geopolitical landscape between Moscow and Washington. However, he suggested that European leaders might eventually “feel which way the wind is blowing.”
Meanwhile, Tusk claimed that “Europe must be prepared for this race, and Russia will lose it, just as the Soviet Union did 40 years ago,” arguing that the EU would be able to arm itself faster than Russia.
His remarks followed a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, in which he claimed that Russia posed a security threat to the EU. Macron called for increased defense spending and even suggested extending France’s nuclear umbrella to other EU states.
Additionally, on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a significant defense budget increase under the ReArm Europe Plan, which would allocate approximately $840 billion to defense—doubling the EU’s total military expenditure for 2024.
The push for greater European defense capabilities comes amid signals from Washington that the United States expects European nations to take more responsibility for their own security. Last month, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that the Pentagon intends to shift its military focus towards countering China, warning the EU not to assume indefinite American military presence in the region.
Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations that it poses a military threat to Europe and strongly condemned Macron’s remarks as “highly confrontational.” President Vladimir Putin dismissed Western claims of an imminent Russian attack as “nonsense” and accused European leaders of exaggerating the threat to justify increased military budgets.
Putin reiterated that Russia has no desire to be drawn into an arms race but affirmed that Moscow would take all necessary steps to protect its security and that of its allies.
