Russia, asked about defence spending, says it is NATO spending that risks collapse of alliance

(Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow planned to cut its defence spending, but that he thought a decision by NATO members to increase their own defence spending could ultimately lead to the alliance's collapse.

NATO leaders on Wednesday backed a big increase in defence spending that U.S. President Donald Trump had demanded, and said they were united in their resolve to defend each other against what they cast as a threat from Russia.

Asked about remarks by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who was reported to have said that an arms race between Russia and the West could trigger the fall of President Vladimir Putin, Lavrov said he thought NATO could collapse.

"Since he is such a predictor, he probably foresees that a catastrophic increase in the budget of NATO countries, according to my estimates, will also lead to the collapse of this organisation," Lavrov said.

Russia, which launched a full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, dismisses Western claims that it will one day attack a NATO member, a step both Russia and the United States say could trigger World War Three.

Putin said on Friday that Russia was looking to cut its military expenditure from next year.

Russia hiked state spending on national defence by a quarter in 2025 to 6.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest level since the Cold War. Defence spending accounts for 32% of total 2025 federal budget expenditure.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Guy FaulconbridgeEditing by Andrew Osborn)