President Putin Doesn't Want To Restore Soviet Union And Attack NATO Member Countries

Dmitry Peskov. (Source: Kremlin)

JAKARTA - Kremlin spokesman on Tuesday firmly dismissed European claims of Russian President Vladimir Putin's desire to restore the Soviet Union, as well as plans to attack member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday President Putin wanted to restore "old Soviet Union", with Europe having to defend itself against what he called a clear Russian intent, which, according to him, is listed in Russian state doctrines, to attack NATO.

"This is not true," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about Chancellor Merz's statement.

"Vladimir Putin doesn't want to restore the Soviet Union because it is impossible, and he himself has repeatedly said this," he stressed.

"Talking about it doesn't respect our partners," Peskov said.

"As a result, (The chancellor) Merz did not know about this," he said.

"Regarding the preparation for the attack on NATO, this is really stupid," added Peskov.

President Putin, who was born in the Soviet Union, in 2005 described the collapse of the Soviet Union as the 20th century's largest geopolitical disaster, as tens of millions of Russians fell into poverty and Russia itself faces a threat of disintegration.

Opponents say Russia under President Putin is decaying in a strong mixture of absurdity and repression comparable to the Leonid Brezhnev era in the Soviet Union.

Western leaders say President Putin, if he wins (wars in) Ukraine, one day will attack (member states) NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

President Putin himself has repeatedly denied having plans to attack NATO, stressing such a move would be a stupid act for Russia given NATO's conventional military superiority over Russia.