Kremlin says Europe obsessed with militarising EU, Russia ‘on guard’
In short
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europe is obsessed with the idea of militarising the EU and turning it from an economic union into a military bloc, calling that path a dead end. He said Russia is ‘on guard’ and is monitoring those plans. TASS reported the comments came after France tested a new nuclear missile, and RBC described them as a reply to Macron’s ‘missile message’.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europe is obsessed with the idea of militarising the EU and turning the bloc from an economic union into a military one. He called that path a dead end, according to RBC, and said the idea of militarising Europe will not lead to anything good, according to RIA Novosti. State outlets TASS and RIA Novosti reported the same assessment within minutes of each other. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 ]
Peskov also said Russia is ‘on guard’ and is following the European plans. TASS reported his remarks came after France tested a new nuclear missile. RBC said Peskov was responding to what it called Macron’s ‘missile message’ and that he stated Russia insists on solving international problems through dialogue rather than demonstrations of missile power. [ 3 , 6 , 7 ]
The documents do not specify which EU programmes Russia is monitoring, and only TASS ties the comments to the French test. Peskov’s remarks were carried by two state outlets and one business outlet, all published between 13:17 and 13:26 local time. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
Why it matters
The remarks are the Kremlin’s public response to European defence plans and, according to TASS and RBC, to a French nuclear missile test, signalling continued friction between Moscow and European capitals. They were carried by Russia’s main state outlets within minutes of each other, indicating a coordinated official line rather than a one-off comment.
Key facts
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europe is obsessed with the idea of militarising the EU. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 ]
- Peskov said the EU is being turned from an economic union into a military bloc. [ 4 ]
- Peskov called the militarisation of Europe a dead-end path. [ 4 ]
- Peskov said the idea of militarising Europe will not lead to anything good. [ 5 ]
- Peskov said Russia is ‘on guard’ and is following the plans for European militarisation. [ 3 , 6 , 7 ]
- Peskov said Russia insists on solving international problems through dialogue rather than demonstrations of missile power. [ 7 ]
- TASS said Peskov spoke after France tested a new nuclear missile. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europe is obsessed with the idea of militarising the EU. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 ]
- Peskov said Russia is on guard and is monitoring the European militarisation plans. [ 3 , 6 , 7 ]
- Peskov said the militarisation drive is a dead end or will lead to nothing good. [ 4 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Peskov’s comments were a direct response to France’s nuclear missile test. Only TASS links the remarks to the French test; RBC instead frames them as a reply to Macron’s ‘missile message’, and other outlets give no trigger.
- Whether ‘Europe’ in Peskov’s remarks means the EU institutions, individual European states, or both. The documents switch between ‘Europe’ and ‘the EU’ without defining the target.
- What specific EU plans or measures Russia is monitoring. The documents say Russia is following ‘plans for militarisation’ but name no programme or document.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- TASS reports Peskov saying Europe is obsessed with the idea of militarising the EU. [ 1 ]
- RIA Novosti reports the Kremlin view that Europe is obsessed with militarisation; TASS reports Peskov saying Russia is on guard over EU militarisation plans, after France’s nuclear missile test; RBC reports Peskov calling Europe’s militarisation a dead end. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- RIA Novosti reports Peskov saying Russia is following European militarisation plans. [ 6 ]
- RBC reports Peskov answering Macron’s ‘missile message’ with the phrase ‘Russia is on guard’ and saying Russia insists on dialogue rather than missile demonstrations. [ 7 ]