(MENAFN) Russia has sharply criticized Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken for what it called reckless rhetoric after he suggested that NATO could “wipe Moscow off the map.”

In an interview with De Morgen published Monday, Francken dismissed fears that the currently paused delivery of US-made Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine could trigger a full-scale war between Russia and NATO.

He argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not resort to nuclear weapons because the US-led bloc “will wipe Moscow off the map,” adding that any conventional strike on Brussels would also result in Moscow being “flattened.”

Reacting to the comments, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko told RBK on Wednesday that Francken’s remarks reflected “the atmosphere of military psychosis” in Western Europe.

The Russian Embassy in Belgium condemned the statements as “provocative and irresponsible,” describing them as “sheer absurdity and total disconnect from reality.”

“Francken’s escapades are the most glaring manifestation of the militarist frenzy that is increasingly consuming the European war party,” the embassy said, warning that EU officials like Francken are “posing a threat to the continent’s future and [are] capable of plunging it into a new war.”

Moscow has repeatedly warned that sending Western weapons to Ukraine will not halt its forces but will instead escalate the conflict further.

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