Russia is concerned as Europe spends up to $400 billion on defense.

Russian Ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko stated that if all NATO countries increase the organization's budget to 2% of GDP, there is a risk that this money will not be used to combat terrorism.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"Total European spending will reach around $400 billion, which is completely excessive, even from the perspective of analyzing the real threats and challenges," the diplomat emphasized.

According to him, there is a "great danger" that a significant portion of that money will be spent on "buying weapons for a so-called war against a major enemy."

Ambassador Grushko noted that Russia's military budget is estimated at nearly $50 billion, while the total military budget of European Union members amounts to approximately 270 billion euros.

Russia's permanent representative to NATO also stated that the number of US military personnel in Europe increased two to four times after the conclusion of the Russia-Belarus "West 2017" military exercises.

According to Sputnik