Russia is preparing for the worst amid NATO’s plans to increase defense spending, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has stated.

Axar.az reports that Grushko said many challenges could hinder the implementation of plans recently adopted at the Hague Summit and currently being developed within the European Union.

“There are indeed serious doubts about the economic capabilities of NATO and the EU to carry out these plans,” he noted.

Grushko emphasized that while some of these initiatives may not be fully realized, Russia should not rely on that possibility:

“We must prepare for the worst. We should not hope that some of their plans will fail or remain incomplete. We must calmly continue to ensure our own security and defense capabilities.”