MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. NATO is preparing for an imminent military conflict with Russia, said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, citing the alliance’s rising military spending as evidence.

She said that Vladimir Zelensky's words about the Easter truce are a PR stunt that hides his intention to regroup Ukraine’s military forces for continued fighting against Russia.

TASS has compiled the key statements by the official Foreign Ministry representative.

NATO's preparations for a clash with Russia

NATO is getting ready for a military conflict with Russia, as evidenced by growing military expenditures: "The figures speak for themselves. The alliance continues to prepare for a direct armed clash with Russia in the coming years."

A NATO activity report for 2025 puts the bloc’s total military expenditure at $1.64 trillion: "32 NATO countries account for about 62% of all military expenditures in the world. And it’s us who’s the threat, eh? With such NATO figures."

"The number and scale of NATO exercises is increasing; more than 120 maneuvers were conducted under the auspices of the alliance during the outgoing year, and more than 700 trainings were held by individual member countries."

The NATO report again names Russia as the most significant threat to security, peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region: "Once again, conclusions that are unjustified, unsubstantiated and, most importantly, not based on any democratic procedures for obtaining information are being made about us."

Zelensky wants to regroup military

Zelensky's talk about an Easter truce are just like him - trying to regroup his forces and prepare for the continuation of hostilities: "You know, this is the same old thing, Zelensky's favorite approach, another PR stunt, and he needs it not as because he wants long-term peace, but as another step on the advice of his European and Western European allies to get a 1-2 month truce to make up for the losses, regroup and prepare the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the continuation of hostilities. We have seen a lot of evidence for this, there is enough evidence."

If Zelensky were "really interested" in ending the conflict, he would "show political will" by repealing discriminatory laws against Russians and Russian-speaking residents of Ukraine, confirming the seriousness of his intentions to help resolve the crisis: "However, we do not see this. We see different things and hear different things."

Zelensky and his regime, in order to "save their own skin," will attack any country to appease allies: "Moreover, by the word ‘himself,’ I do not mean his country or his people. And not even his colleagues. He will only save himself. Only his own skin, that’s it."

Pressure on Russian journalists

Moscow warns the Netherlands that pressure on Russian journalists will not go unanswered: "From the very beginning, the Russian side warned the official Hague, including during repeated targeted contacts with the leadership of the kingdom's embassy in Moscow, that such methods of pressure on representatives of the domestic media would not remain without a response."

As a response, Russia "is forced to make a decision to terminate the accreditation and stay in Russia of a correspondent of one of their Dutch media outlets."

Moscow may reconsider retaliatory measures against the Dutch journalist if The Hague stops discriminating against Russian journalists: "We are ready to reconsider our decision if the Dutch government creates appropriate conditions for the work of the Russian journalist."

West escalates situation in Middle East

EU sanctions against Iran will never settle the conflict in the Middle East: "Sanctions pressure on sovereign states, I think everyone has already understood, cannot serve as an alternative to diplomacy, cannot replace international law and will definitely never lead to a normalization of the situation."

Despite the provocative actions of the United States and Israel, "Tehran continues to remain committed to its obligations under the NPT."

The transfer of control over the Strait of Hormuz to third countries would not help ease tension in the region: "The transfer of control over the strategic artery to third countries or the creation of supranational governance structures without the consent of every single Gulf State would hardly help defuse tension in the region."

Iran controls the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which "no matter how much they want to, even the United States of America cannot challenge, despite all the military power they have accumulated in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean."

Russia does not accept Israel’s threats against the Caspian region: "It would not be superfluous to repeat our well-known and unequivocal position: the Caspian Region is a safe space for peaceful and mutually beneficial cooperation, free from any kind of military confrontation."

Investigation of the provocation in Bucha

The UN Secretariat deliberately avoids interaction with Russia on what happened in Bucha four years ago: "We have every reason to believe that the UN Secretariat deliberately avoids constructive interaction with the Russian side, thereby violating the established practice of cooperation with states in the interests of the administration of justice."

Russia "continues to demand at all levels that the United Nations abandon its unconstructive line, stop covering up the Ukrainian staging and finally contribute to a thorough investigation of the bloody provocation in Bucha: It is possible for the UN Secretariat to travel to Bucha, this does not put the representatives of the secretariat in some kind of ‘dangerous position,’ while to say why they are there referring to specific facts, if there were any, it turns out, ‘is not possible.’"

A visit by chief of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas to Bucha resembles a criminal returning to the crime scene: "As you know, murderers always return to the crime scene. That's what they've done now. The appearance in Bucha is, in fact, a self-exposure of this staging by the Bandera regime and its Western curators."

Humanitarian aid to Iran

Russia is grateful to Azerbaijan for its assistance in sending humanitarian aid to Iran: "We are grateful to the Azerbaijani authorities for their assistance."

Russians "from all over the country" are collecting humanitarian aid for the Iranian people: "This is how people here respond to the pain of others."

Detention of SOS Donbass founder in Paris

Moscow calls on Paris to immediately release Russian citizen Anna Novikova, founder of SOS Donbass: "We insist that the repression against individuals whose only fault is expressing opinions that do not coincide with the official Paris version should be stopped immediately."

Russia "will consistently make every effort to release Anna Novikova as soon as possible within the framework of its powers."

The possibility of detaining Russian citizens at the request of the United States

The Russian Foreign Ministry warns Russians about the growing risks of detentions and arrests at the request of the United States in third countries: "Taking into account the widespread nature of such stories and cases, the number of which has already exceeded a hundred, the Russian Foreign Ministry has prepared a detailed warning describing the potential risks of travel to the states linked to the United States by bilateral and/or multilateral extradition treaties, as well as transfers at local airports."

The Russian Foreign Ministry strongly recommends examining the list of countries with an increased risk of detention at the request of the US Department of Justice: "Both documents will be published soonest."