"First of all, some of us want to attack Russia. The foreign minister [of Germany, Annalena Baerbock] said that we were at war with Russia. This is terrible, this is a huge lie. And this exacerbates [the situation]. And this leads to escalation," Kotre said on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week.
Escalation from any side — from the West or from Russia — is bad in any case, he added.
In 2023, Baerbock declared that European countries were waging a war against Russia. This statement was met with harsh criticism from various politicians even in Germany itself. The minister was later forced to admit her mistake.
The Russian Energy Week was held in Moscow from September 26 to 28. RIA Novosti acted as the forum's information partner.