Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that European states, faced with the need to increase defense budgets, are artificially creating an image of an enemy in Russia to justify tax increases to their populations.
In an interview with Pavel Zarubin, author of the Vesti news service, Peskov noted that Europe, having lost the cheap American security umbrella, is now building its own defense identity. However, this requires significant funds, and therefore authorities have to convince taxpayers to pay more.
"Voters do not like this. How to convince voters? Invent an enemy. Which enemy is most convincing? A big enemy, large and powerful," the Kremlin representative explained.
In recent years, Russia has recorded unprecedented NATO activity near its western borders. The alliance is expanding initiatives, explaining this by deterring aggression from Moscow. Vladimir Putin, in turn, emphasized that the West invented a scare story about a possible invasion to frighten the people.