Vladimir Putin dismissed fears of conflict with Europe as “hysteria” stoked by Ukraine’s allies on Wednesday – just two weeks after issuing his own threats against the West.
In a rambling speech, the Russian president claimed that Europeans had been “indoctrinated with fears about an inevitable clash with Russia” despite Moscow escalating its campaign of hybrid attacks in recent months.
“I have repeatedly stated: this is a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense about some imaginary Russian threat to European countries. But this is being done quite deliberately,” he said.
Earlier this month, Putin caused alarm after saying Russia was “ready to fight” against Nato. Russian officials have repeatedly threatened Europe with military action since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Putin accused European leaders of following the path of the previous US administration, painting president Joe Biden as a warmongering leader who “deliberately steered the situation towards an armed conflict”.
“Europe’s little pigs immediately joined in the work of the previous American administration, hoping to profit from the collapse of our country,” he said.
Speaking at an annual meeting with the defence ministry, Putin jumped at the opportunity to reassert his unyielding demands for a peace deal in Ukraine.
He said that Russia will “undoubtedly” achieve its war goals, suggesting “we would prefer to do this … through diplomacy” but warning that “Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means” if Ukraine and its allies do not “engage”.
The Kremlin is currently waiting to hear from Washington on the outcomes of US-Ukrainian talks to end the war held earlier this week. Russia has refused to budge on its demands for Ukrainian territory, a sticking point in negotiations.
As European nations rally to offer Ukraine security guarantees, Putin has repeatedly warned that Russia is ready to expand its conflict – and has threatened that foreign peacekeepers in a post-war settlement would be considered legitimate targets.
“If Europe decides to go to war with Russia and actually starts a war, a situation could very quickly come where Moscow simply has no one to negotiate with,” he said in a stark warning earlier this month.
He said that Russia was not planning to go to war with Europe, but was “ready right now” if Europe wanted to, or started a war.
Analysts in the West have argued that Putin appears to be actively preparing for conflict with Europe.
The head of Britain’s armed forces assessed this week that Russia presents a real threat to the UK and that the nation’s “sons and daughters” must be ready to fight in case of an attack.
Nato chief Mark Rutte warned last week that Russia could attack a member state within five years. His claim appeared to echo the findings of a Danish intelligence report that assessed last year that Russia could attack a Nato country within three to five years.
Latvian intelligence also assessed in February that Russian intelligence was developing its capabilities for sabotage in Europe in preparation “for a possible military confrontation with Nato in the long term”.
.jpg?trim=0,50,0,50&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "FCC immediately edits website after pro-Trump chair claims it’s not an independent agency – UK Times")