MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow has no intention of attacking anyone, but warned European officials that any attack on Russia would draw a crushing response.
"My message for European politicians who seem to have problems getting to grips with this fact - I hope they get to read this interview - is to repeat one more time that there is no need to be afraid of Russia attacking anyone, " he said in an interview with TASS.
"However, should anyone consider attacking Russia, they would face a devastating blow," the top diplomat noted, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated it.
Earlier, the Russian head of state warned that any strikes deep inside Russia with long-range Western-made weapons would be met with a "crushing response."
Back in 2023, Putin noted that Russia’s retaliatory attacks would be "absolutely unacceptable for any potential aggressor." "Starting from the moment a missile launch has been detected, no matter where it comes from — any point in the world’s oceans or from any territory — there will follow a counter-attack, with so many missiles, so many hundreds of our missiles appearing in the air that no enemy will have a chance to survive," he said. The Russian president added that the retaliatory strikes would be carried out "in several directions at once."