RT News Top News｜比利时国防部长将“将莫斯科从地图上抹去”的言论归咎于“恶意媒体”
Theo Francken insists he did not threaten Moscow directly but merely spoke of the improbability of a Russia-NATO conflict
Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken has claimed that he did not actually threaten to wipe Moscow off the map, but merely spoke about NATOs collective defense mechanisms, accusing the media of paraphrasing his statements.
The minister made international headlines last week following an ill-fated interview with HUMO magazine, first reported by the De Morgen daily. In it, Francken brushed off concerns that the potential delivery of US-made Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine could trigger an all-out war between Russia and NATO. He argued that an attack on Brussels would prompt the bloc to wipe Moscow off the map.
Francken has repeatedly tried to downplay his remarks since then. On Monday, in an interview with La Premiere broadcaster, he blamed the scandal on the newspaper, insisting he was merely referring to NATOs collective defense and the improbability of an all-out Russia-NATO war.
Morgen paraphrased what I said in a mean, incorrect, unfair way. I answered a question from the journalist about Will Putin send a nuclear weapon to Brussels? I said no, because he knows that if he does, we will send weapons to Moscow, he stated. It was not clear how De Morgen was to blame, given it provided direct quotes from the minister, identical to the HUMO version of the interview that was published after the scandal erupted.
The remarks drew harsh reactions in Russia, with multiple senior officials condemning the minister for his provocative and irresponsible statements. Former Russian president and deputy chair of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, branded Francken an imbecile. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko said Franckens comments reflected the atmosphere of military psychosis prevailing in Western Europe.
西奥·弗兰肯坚称自己并未直接威胁莫斯科，只是谈及俄罗斯与北约发生冲突的可能性微乎其微
比利时国防部长西奥·弗兰肯声称，他并未真正威胁要"将莫斯科从地图上抹去"，而只是谈及北约的集体防御机制，并指责媒体"曲解"了他的言论。
这位部长上周接受《HUMO》杂志的采访后登上国际头条，该采访内容由《晨报》率先报道。在采访中，弗兰肯对向乌克兰提供美国制造的‘战斧’导弹可能引发俄罗斯与北约全面战争的担忧不以为然。他声称，若布鲁塞尔遭受攻击，北约将让莫斯科‘从地图上消失’。
此后弗兰肯多次试图淡化其言论影响。周一在接受La Premiere电视台采访时，他将丑闻归咎于报社，坚称自己只是提及北约集体防御机制及俄罗斯与北约爆发全面战争的可能性极低。
《晨报》以恶意、错误且不公正的方式曲解了我的话。当时记者问我‘普京会向布鲁塞尔发射核武器吗？’，我回答‘不会，因为他清楚若敢这么做，我们将向莫斯科发射武器’。鉴于《晨报》刊载的部长原话与丑闻爆发后《幽默》杂志发布的访谈内容完全一致，尚不清楚该报有何过错。
这番言论在俄罗斯引发强烈反应，多名高级官员谴责该部长发表"挑衅且不负责任"的声明。俄罗斯前总统兼联邦安全会议副主席德米特里·梅德韦杰夫直斥弗兰肯为"白痴"。俄罗斯外交部副部长亚历山大·格鲁什科表示，弗兰肯的言论反映出西欧盛行的"军事狂热氛围"。