Russia Has No Plans to Attack NATO: Ambassador Korchunov

Russian Ambassador to Norway Nikolay Korchunov has said that Russia has no plans, reasons, or interests to attack NATO. He made the remarks in an interview with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) on June 10, 2026, while responding to a Western media “investigation” alleging that Russia was preparing for war with Europe.

Korchunov stated that Russia has never initiated a military confrontation and has no geopolitical, economic, or military interest in attacking NATO. According to him, such claims by the ruling elites and security services of Western countries are aimed at creating hysteria, misleading their own citizens, justifying increased military spending, and diverting attention from serious socio-economic and domestic political problems.

He said Russia poses no threat to anyone and has no interest in an armed or “hybrid” confrontation with NATO or individual European member states of the alliance. Korchunov said Russia’s objective is to prevent a global catastrophe, address the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict, and create long-term and sustainable conditions for an architecture of equal and indivisible security in Europe and the broader Eurasian region.

The Russian ambassador said Moscow cannot ignore threats to its national security arising from the deployment of NATO countries’ military infrastructure and offensive weapons systems near Russia’s borders. He described the military-technical measures being taken by Russia, including in its north-western regions, as necessary and purely defensive in nature.

Referring to Russia’s nuclear deterrence doctrine, Korchunov said its principles remain strictly defensive and define very clearly the extreme circumstances under which Russia would consider the use of nuclear weapons. He said such circumstances relate exclusively to situations where it would be necessary to counter aggression.

Korchunov also said Western media should stop repeating what he called the myth of NATO as a “defensive alliance.” He argued that no one has ever attacked NATO member states and claimed that the aggressive nature of the military bloc is well known across the world. According to him, NATO’s aim is to use force to preserve the declining global dominance of the collective West.

He further accused NATO countries of repeatedly demonstrating readiness to restrict the freedom of commercial shipping on strategic maritime routes, including in the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic, through what he described as unlawful actions.

Korchunov said that by setting the unattainable goal of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia in the context of the Ukrainian conflict, NATO member states have embarked on a path of escalation, the control of which he described as an illusion.

According to him, Kiev, whose own resources are nearing depletion, is attempting to draw NATO member states into hostilities and is openly interested in such a development, which he said would be fatal for European and global security.

He also claimed that within the European Union and NATO, such provocative actions by the Kiev regime are either ignored or supported, fuelling its sense of impunity and unwillingness to compromise.

The full text of Ambassador Korchunov’s interview has been published on the website of the Russian Embassy.