Brazilian Leader blames NATO for starting arms race
(MENAFN) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused NATO of driving a worldwide arms race by advocating for a significant boost in military expenditures. Speaking at the BRICS summit opening in Rio de Janeiro, Lula condemned NATO’s recent move to raise its defense spending target from 2% to 5% of GDP.
“NATO’s recent decision [to raise military spending to 5% of GDP] is fueling an arms race,” Lula stated. He added, “It has become much easier to invest in maintaining wars than to invest in achieving peace,” highlighting Western commitments to allocate 0.7% of GDP for aiding developing nations that remain unmet.
Though not yet formally adopted, NATO’s proposal has received backing from its Secretary-General Mark Rutte and several member countries including the United States and Poland. Western leaders argue the increase is necessary to counter what they describe as a growing threat from Russia.
Russia, however, denies any plans to attack NATO countries and dismisses these claims as unfounded fearmongering aimed at justifying increased militarization while distracting from internal challenges.
In an interview released Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that NATO’s expansion near Russia’s borders and efforts to bring Ukraine into the alliance pose a direct security threat to Moscow. He said these actions left Russia with no choice but to initiate its military operation against Kyiv in 2022.
Lavrov further accused NATO of evolving into an offensive military force, pointing to past interventions in Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Libya. He claimed NATO’s increased militarization and vilification of Russia serve to divert attention from Western issues such as inflation and migration.
The minister also warned that NATO’s proposed hike in defense spending could have “catastrophic” consequences and might even lead to the alliance’s collapse. In contrast, Moscow plans to reduce its military budget in the coming years, guided by “common sense, not made-up threats like NATO member states,” Lavrov said.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
