A catastrophic increase in defense spending by NATO countries will ultimately lead to the alliance’s collapse, and Western countries should follow common sense.

Axar.az reports, citing TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters after the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.

"He probably foresees – since he is such a fortune teller – that the disastrous increase in spending of NATO countries will also lead to the collapse of this organization," Lavrov said, commenting on statements by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who remarked that Russia’s military buildup would cause its downfall.

"Meanwhile, Russia – as President [Vladimir Putin] said the other day in Minsk after the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting – plans to reduce its military spending and be guided by common sense, rather than imaginary threats, as NATO member states do, including Sikorski," he pointed out.