VIENNA, April 30. /TASS/. European Union countries are preparing their citizens for war with Moscow, Russian Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Dmitry Polyansky said.

"Some leading foreign media outlets, taking all these signs of an impending catastrophe into account, have reached a clear and grim conclusion: direct armed conflict between Russia and Europe is inevitable. Thus, according to the Italian publication L’AntiDiplomatico, the point of no return has been crossed. There is overt psychological preparation of the public for war, while the growing hatred toward Russia, according to analysts from the same publication, is merely a prelude to direct incitement," he said at a meeting of the organization’s Permanent Council.

Among the indicators of such a development, Polyansky cited the "creeping 'nuclear consolidation' of Europe," which he said is reflected in France and the United Kingdom extending their nuclear "umbrellas" to other EU countries, as well as instances of "blatant piracy" against Russian ships in the Baltic Sea.

Given these circumstances, the Russian permanent representative said more experts are losing faith in diplomacy. "European arrogance and haughtiness, fueled by colonial and racist sentiments, coupled with the increasingly evident German and French revanchism, are currently running rampant across the Old Continent. Well, we’ve been through all this before, and the outcome of this dangerous delusion is clear to us as well, but this is your choice, ladies and gentlemen, and it seems we have no alternative but to accept it," he concluded.