KALININGRAD, January 25. /TASS/. By talking about a possible armed conflict with Russia, European politicians are distracting the attention of EU residents from economic issues, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"You always have to look for an external enemy - Europeans were always inclined to do this. For them, of course, we are a long-standing enemy. And now, when economic issues emerge, when taxpayers ask what they (EU leadership - TASS) spent tens or hundreds of millions of euros on instead of investing in the EU economy, when the European economy is losing its competitiveness, it is necessary to somehow divert the attention of its citizens," Peskov said.
According to him, in this case they raise the topic of a hypothetical conflict with Russia.
The Kremlin representative drew attention to the large-scale and "rather unprecedented" NATO exercises, dubbed Steadfast Defender 2024, which are currently underway in Eastern Europe. "They are not hiding who these drills are aimed at," Peskov noted, stressing that in Russia "they have never worn rose-colored glasses."
"We know what NATO’s military infrastructure is. After all, this was an alliance created for confrontation. They are showing their true colors, which once again underscores the rightness of the Russian Federation when, even before the start of the special military operation, President Putin spoke about our deep concerns about our security during this creeping process of NATO infrastructure moving closer to our borders," the presidential press secretary said.