ISTANBUL

The Kremlin on Sunday described a statement by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte earlier this week on a potential war with Russia as “irresponsible.”

“Unfortunately, Mr. Rutte, when he makes such irresponsible statements, simply does not understand what he is talking about,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, a part of which was shared on his Telegram.

Rutte said Thursday during a keynote speech at a Munich Security Conference event in Berlin that Russia could be in a position to attack NATO within five years, urging allies to boost defense spending and strengthen the alliance's deterrence.

“Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured,” he added.

Moscow has regularly denied having any "aggressive plans" against NATO or EU members, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating Thursday that his country is ready to guarantee this in writing.

“Тhis statement is probably from a representative of a generation that has managed to forget what the Second World War was like,” Peskov said.