Putin Says Russia Ready for War With Europe if Attacked [View all]

Source: Wall Street Journal

The Russian leader also accused Kyiv’s European allies of trying to undermine peace talks by amending a U.S. peace plan devised with Kremlin input

President Vladimir Putin said Russia was ready to fight a war with Europe if attacked and accused the continent’s leaders of trying to sabotage peace efforts, calling recent proposed changes to a U.S. peace plan for Ukraine “absolutely unacceptable.”

“We do not plan to fight Europe, I’ve already said it a hundred times. But if Europe wants to fight us, and starts it, then we’re ready right now,” Putin said at an investment forum in Moscow on Tuesday, when asked about Europe’s defensive buildup.

The remarks, which came before Putin met White House special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow, represented some of the most pointed criticism of Europe by the Russian leader as he seeks to fuel divisions in the trans-Atlantic alliance.

A senior NATO official dismissed Putin’s comments, saying that the alliance is united. Russia doesn’t have the troop numbers or military capability to defeat NATO in Europe, the official said.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/trump-envoys-to-meet-putin-to-push-u-s-peace-plan-for-ukraine-173ac10c?st=mWZHdm&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink