THE HAGUE, December 12. /TASS/. Irresponsible politicians, not Russia, pose a real threat to Europe, the embassy in the Netherlands said in a statement.

Diplomats commented on NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's statement, made during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, that the alliance would allegedly become Moscow's "next target."

"Russia is not a threat to Europe or the Netherlands – irresponsible politicians are. Instead of working on real, long-term solutions, they choose to fuel the war, block peace efforts, and frighten their own people," the embassy wrote on its X page.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has repeatedly stated that EU and NATO countries are deliberately inventing and fueling the myth of the "Russian threat" to distract their own people from economic problems. She emphasized that the EU's economic problems have reached catastrophic proportions, primarily due to the impact of anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the West.