Russia has no plans to attack NATO, warns of decisive response if provoked

Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has dismissed claims that Moscow is preparing to attack NATO or European Union states, insisting that his country has never had and does not have such intentions.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, he cautioned, however, that any act of aggression against Russia would be met with a decisive response.

Lavrov’s remarks come against the backdrop of heightened tensions in Europe, where several NATO countries have accused Russia of drone incursions and airspace violations.

Denmark recently reported drones flown over its airports, though officials admitted there was no direct evidence of Russian involvement.

Estonia has accused Moscow of warplane intrusions, while NATO air defences were mobilised over Poland in response to suspected Russian drones.

The United States has gone further, with President Donald Trump calling for NATO members to shoot down Russian planes entering allied airspace.

The Russian foreign minister framed these accusations as provocations, arguing that Western rhetoric is designed to portray Russia as an aggressor.

“Threats of force against Russia are becoming increasingly common. President Putin has repeatedly debunked such provocations,” Lavrov said, stressing that Moscow’s military posture is defensive.

Beyond Europe, Lavrov used his UN platform to criticise Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. While acknowledging Russia’s condemnation of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks, which killed around 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in 251 hostages being taken, he said there was no justification for the scale of Israeli strikes that have since killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

He warned that Israel’s actions, including airstrikes in other Middle Eastern countries, threatened to blow up the wider region.

Lavrov also addressed the reimposition of sanctions on Iran, calling them illegal after a joint Russian-Chinese bid to delay the measures failed on Friday. He accused Western powers of deliberately sabotaging diplomacy in the region.

On the war in Ukraine, the minister struck a pragmatic tone, suggesting that parts of the current United States administration had shown a willingness to move beyond ideology in search of solutions.

This comes as President Trump shifted his rhetoric, stating Kyiv could win all of Ukraine back in its original form.

Lavrov further questioned the timing of recent recognition of a Palestinian state by countries such as France and the United Kingdom, implying that Western leaders had delayed in hopes that there would be no one and nothing left to recognise.