Moscow
\nWarnings from some EU leaders that Russia could attack Europe if it prevails in the Ukraine conflict are essentially \u00echorror stories\u00ee made up to distract people from domestic problems in their own countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
\nHe was responding to a reporter\u00eds question regarding recent statements by Polish President Andrzej Duda, who signaled that his country was open to hosting US nuclear weapons. Duda claimed that this would \u00ecstrengthen the security of NATO\u00eds eastern flank\u00ee as Russia was \u00ecincreasingly militarizing\u00ee its exclave of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithuania, as well as deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus. Several other European leaders have also warned that Russia could attack an EU member state if it defeats Ukraine on the battlefield.
\n\u00ecEuropean capitals are escalating tension in every possible way\u00d6 trying to fool their population with these horror stories about terrible Russians who will never stop and continue moving forward.
\nThat\u00eds absolutely groundless,\u00ee Peskov said in an interview aired by Rossiya 1 TV channel on Sunday.
\nAccording to the spokesman, the \u00ebRussian threat\u00ed is used by some European leaders \u00ecto cover up\u00ee their internal economic or political problems, while some even \u00ectry to compensate for the loss of their image, their rating\u00ee with their warnings regarding Russia.
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin made similar remarks last month, when he dismissed any talk of a potential Russian attack on Poland, the Czech Republic, or the Baltic states as \u00ecnonsense\u00ee and attempts to scare local citizens \u00ecto extract additional expenses from people.\u00ee
\nLast year, Russia placed its tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, but Putin explained the move at the time as a response to NATO\u00eds increased military activity close to Belarusian and Russian territory. Meanwhile, Moscow has repeatedly stressed it has never threatened to use its nuclear arsenal and has no plans to do so.
\nDuda\u00eds statements regarding the placement of US nuclear weapons on Polish soil were criticized by Polish officials and the country\u00eds NATO allies. Poland\u00eds Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Friday said Duda had no authority to speculate publicly about the matter.
\nFrench Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu also warned that an additional nuclear deployment would breach key arms-control accords between NATO and Russia. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg completely dismissed the idea of expanding the bloc\u00eds nuclear-sharing arrangements, saying at a press briefing on Tuesday that the alliance had \u00ecno plans to deploy any more nuclear weapons in any additional NATO countries.\u00ee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moscow Warnings from some EU leaders that Russia could attack Europe if it prevails in the Ukraine conflict are essentially \u00echorror stories\u00ee made up to distract people from domestic problems in their own countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He was responding to a reporter\u00eds question regarding recent statements by Polish President Andrzej Duda, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-403547","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n