NATO general secretary trolls Russian foreign minister over Alliance collapse claim

Jul 3, 2025 - 00:02

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has mocked Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over his recent claim that NATO faces a "collapse" due to increased defence spending.

Source: Mark Rutte on Fox News, as reported by European Pravda

Details: On 29 June 2025, Sergei Lavrov responded to Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski’s prediction that Vladimir Putin’s regime would collapse due to a modern "arms race".

"He is probably predicting, being a harbinger that he is, that a catastrophic, according to my estimates, increase in the budget of NATO countries will also lead to the collapse of this organisation," Lavrov stated.

Rutte, commenting on Fox News, praised US President Donald Trump’s push for increased NATO defence spending as a "huge foreign policy win".

Quote from Rutte: "Lavrov – I mean, he is foreign minister of Russia, I think since the birth of Jesus Christ? And since then nothing useful has come out of his mouth. So let’s not pay too much attention to Mr Lavrov."

Background: At the NATO summit on 25 June 2025 in The Hague, member states reaffirmed Russia as a long-term threat and discussed strengthening defence budgets.

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