MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. Berlin’s statement that NATO should remain intact in order to protect Germany is surprising, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Channel One’s Bolshaya Igra (or Great Game) show.

Lavrov pointed out that Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Chancellor Angela Merkel had said during a debate initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron that NATO should remain intact because only NATO could protect Germany. "Frankly speaking, I was struck by these statements, not from a country with a mentality based on hatred against Russia and some historic phobias but from Germany, the leader of the EU," Lavrov said. "It means that it is deep-rooted sentiment, a paranoia," he added.

The Russian top diplomat emphasized that the European Union’s new authorities would have to determine their attitude towards dialogue on political and military security on the European continent, particularly on dialogue with Russia and other countries that were not EU and NATO members.

"I believe that as far as diplomacy is concerned, it is crucial to change the narrative, as they say nowadays. This is what French President Emmanuel Macron is trying to do along with a number of other leaders of NATO and EU countries," he stressed.