#Belgium's Defense Minister's remarks arouse Russia's anger #[Belgium's Defense Minister said that Moscow could be "wiped off the map," Russia is angry] According to a report by Russia Today (RT) on October 29, Russia strongly condemned Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken's remarks that NATO could raze Moscow to the ground, calling them "provocative" and "irresponsible," reflecting the growing "militarist fanaticism" in Europe.
On October 26, local time, Franken said in an interview with Belgium's De Morgen that he did not believe that the West's assistance to Ukraine with US-made Tomahawk missiles would trigger a full-scale conflict between Russia and NATO. If Russia launched a missile attack on Brussels would be equivalent to a "blow to the heart of NATO" and would lead to a devastating counterattack. NATO could "erase Moscow from the map." He said that he was not worried that the United States would give up its commitment to NATO under Trump's leadership, claiming that "Europe's bias against the U.S. government is so great that it is unbelievable … He (Trump) did say that the United States will continue to support its NATO allies 100%."
Franken also noted that Russia’s military capabilities should not be underestimated because Russia “produced four times as much ammunition as NATO as a whole” and could buy “much more” weapons for the same money than Western countries.
In response, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Russian Business Advisory newspaper (RBC) on the 29th that Franken's remarks were in line with the "military fanaticism atmosphere" prevalent in Western Europe. The Russian Embassy in Belgium issued a statement condemning Franken's remarks as "provocative" and "irresponsible" and calling them "ridiculous and completely divorced from reality." The statement said such remarks "most vividly embody the growing militarist fanaticism of European war groups" and warned such officials "pose a threat to the future of the continent and threaten to drag it into a new war."
According to the Belgian media fakti.bg, in response to a post on social media that netizens suggested "to take Belgium as the site of 'Poseidon' underwater vessel testing", Russian Security Council Vice-President Medvedev wrote that if so, "Belgium would disappear." Russian President Vladimir Putin on 29 confirmed that the Russian side has successfully completed the test of the "Poseidon" unmanned underwater vessel.