MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has recommended that NATO member states start learning the Russian language without delay, but with a "different motivation" than the one suggested by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Earlier, Rutte claimed that alliance members should increase military spending to 5% of GDP, otherwise, they would need to learn Russian.
"I can’t help but agree here. Start learning without delay. But you should choose a different motivation," the diplomat responded to him during a briefing.
"Frankly, it’s unclear why they’re so afraid of learning Russian," Zakharova added. She suggested that if NATO countries had engaged with the Russian language earlier, they wouldn’t have wasted money trying to cancel Russian culture, history, and economy.
"They wouldn’t have even ventured into the games they’re now playing. Their mindset would have been different. But, as you can see, it’s only now dawning on them that learning Russian is possible and necessary," the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman remarked.
