Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 26, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleNATO's defense spending increase to 5% of GDP won't significantly affect Russia's security, says Foreign Minister Lavrov. The decision follows U.S. pressure and European security concerns.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -NATO's decision to increase defence spending will not significantly affect Russia's security, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
NATO allies on Wednesday agreed to raise their collective spending goal to 5% of gross domestic product over the next decade, citing what they called the long-term threat posed by Russia and the need to strengthen civil and military resilience.
"As for the impact of this 5% goal on our security, I don't think it will be significant," Lavrov told a press conference.
"We know what goals we are pursuing, we don't hide them, we openly announce them, they are absolutely legal from the point of view of any interpretation of the principles of the U.N. Charter and international law, and we know by what means we will always ensure these goals."
NATO adopted the higher spending target in response to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for European members to pull their weight, and also to European fears that Russia poses a growing threat to their security following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia, which is spending more than 40% of this year's budget on defence and security, denies any intention to attack a NATO state.
The Kremlin accused the alliance this week of portraying Russia as a "fiend of hell" in order to justify its "rampant militarisation".
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Gleb Stolyarov and Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Lavrov stated that NATO's decision to increase defense spending will not significantly affect Russia's security.
NATO allies agreed to raise their collective spending goal to 5% of gross domestic product over the next decade.
The Kremlin accused NATO of portraying Russia as a 'fiend of hell' to justify its militarization.
Russia is spending more than 40% of this year's budget on defense and security.
The higher spending target was adopted in response to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump and European fears of a growing threat from Russia.
Explore more articles in the Finance category
