Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken had some harsh words for Moscow in a recent interview.
“Putin knows that if he plays with nuclear weapons, Moscow will disappear from the map and the end of the world will be near,” he told De Morgen.
With talk of Vladimir Putin potentially attacking Western Europe with nuclear weapons, and Russia continuously making threats regarding its capabilities, Belgian daily De Morgen asked the minister if any fears regarding Putin launching any such missile attack on Brussels are justified, with Francken replying: “No, because then he will hit the heart of NATO, and then we will flatten Moscow,” as quoted by Mandiner.
Francken admitted Russia is a “geopolitical power” with a “strong army and a formidable fighting spirit,” and people would be mistaken not to fear it, but even Putin won’t push too far.
He also reassured readers that he has no doubt U.S. President Trump would respect Article 5.
As to any notion of a European Army, the Belgian minister slapped down the idea. “Anyone who believes in a European army is selling castles in the air,” he said. “Fortunately, we have NATO, which has once again demonstrated its effectiveness with the air defense in Poland and Estonia,” he told the paper.
Francken also had some harsh words for the Belgian capital of Brussels, struggling with rampant drug dealing. Regarding George-Louis Bouchez, leader of the Francophone Liberals (MR), stating that soldiers should be deployed to the streets, the minister agreed that this may be the only option.
“If we don’t address the drug war and the insecurity, the Brussels cancer will spread to Flemish Brabant,” he said. “Does that require khaki on the streets? Then we will,” he said.
