THE HAGUE, February 6. /TASS/. Acting Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs David van Weel acknowledged that Russia does not intend to attack Europe and does not seek conflict with NATO.

"NATO is not in conflict with Russia. And I don't think Russia is seeking one at all," he said in an interview with De Telegraaf, acknowledging that European countries have "scared themselves."

On February 4, the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands told TASS that Moscow remains open to a pragmatic and mutually respectful dialogue with The Hague, but that the first step must come from those who have undermined bilateral ties.

Following the publication of the platform of the new Dutch ruling coalition, which calls Russia a "key security threat," the diplomatic mission stressed that Moscow intends to continue to take into account the anti-Russian aspirations of the Dutch leadership when formulating its foreign policy.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova repeatedly stated that EU and NATO countries are deliberately inventing and exaggerating the myth of a "Russian threat" to distract their own populations from economic problems. She stressed that the EU's economic problems have reached catastrophic proportions, and are primarily caused by the impact of Western-imposed anti-Russian sanctions.