By Robert Birsel,Shane Croucher

Copyright newsweek

Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the idea that Russia wants a war with “frigid old Europe”, saying Moscow had nothing to gain from the continent, which he characterized as weak and in terminal decline.

Medvedev is deputy chairman to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Kremlin’s Security Council. He is also a former president and prime minister of Russia.

There is a growing risk of a direct clash between NATO and Russia in Europe over Ukraine. NATO allies have accused Russia of a series of serious airspace violations intended to provoke and test the alliance. Russia calls the allegations unfounded.

“Russia fundamentally does not need a war with anyone, including with frigid old Europe. There’s nothing to gain there,” Medvedev said in a post on Telegram on Monday morning, originally in Russian.

“Europe’s economy is weak and dependent on the U.S., while its culture is ingloriously degrading. Europe is losing its identity, dissolving into aggressive migrants.”

He claimed: “Russia has always come to Europe only as a liberator, not as a conqueror.”

Medvedev also said “vulnerable and divided” Europe is unprepared for a war with Russia, calling its citizens “inert and pampered,” adding that they “don’t want to fight for any common ideals, or even for their own land.”

But he also warned that war remains possible: “The risk of a fatal accident always exists. And the factor of hyperactive frozen-headed idiots hasn’t gone anywhere either. Such a conflict carries a very real risk of escalating into a war with weapons of mass destruction. That’s why we must stay alert.”

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.

Russia’s former leader Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council, visits the Prudboy range in the Volgograd region, southern Russia, on June 1, 2023.