(MENAFN) Russia’s ambassador to Belgium, Denis Gonchar, has claimed that European members of NATO are deliberately frightening their own populations with exaggerated narratives about an alleged Russian threat in order to secure public backing for expanded militarization and a more confrontational stance.

During a European security forum held at the Russian Embassy in Brussels and organized jointly with Belarus, Gonchar argued that Western governments are using fear-based messaging to rationalize soaring defense budgets and a more aggressive policy line toward Moscow.

He asserted that “NATO, which is terrorizing its own population with the Kremlin’s non-existent plans to attack the allies, is preparing for a big war with Russia, as crazy as it sounds,” according to reports.

Gonchar also warned that **“The plans for unrestricted militarization that the European Union is pushing on its members is burying the concept of a Europe unified for peace and prosperity, turning the bloc into a NATO offshoot,”** saying this shift is eroding Europe’s global standing and economic strength.

He claimed that efforts to undermine Russia are not limited to Europe but extend to neighboring states and to regions across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. These attempts, he argued, will ultimately fail, just as the West’s stated objective of delivering a “strategic defeat” to Russia in the Ukraine conflict has not materialized.

According to the embassy, the gathering drew attendees from more than 50 diplomatic missions in Belgium, along with European Parliament representatives and regional analysts. The mission emphasized Gonchar’s comments on the growing multipolar world and Moscow’s stated openness to easing tensions within Europe.

Russian officials have repeatedly framed the conflict in Ukraine as a NATO-orchestrated proxy war aimed at restraining Russia’s progress. They claim that European leaders who warn of an imminent Russian attack are simply diverting attention away from internal crises by relying on an invented external threat.

MENAFN29112025000045017281ID1110413543