According to Reuters, President Vladimir Putin warned European powers on Tuesday that if they go to war with Russia, Russia will be ready to fight and that their defeat will be so absolute that there will be no one left to even negotiate a peace deal.
Asked by a reporter about a statement in Russian media that said Hungarian Foreign Minister Piotr Szijjarto had warned that Europe was preparing for war against Russia, President Putin said that Russia does not want war with Europe.
“If Europe suddenly wanted to go to war with us and started a war, the war would end too quickly for Europe and Europe would have no one to negotiate with,” Putin said. President Putin used the Russian word for “war.”
He also suggested that the Ukraine war was not a full-scale war and that Russia was acting in a “surgical” manner that would not be repeated in a direct confrontation with a European power.
“If Europe suddenly wants to start a war against us, we are ready right now,” Putin said.
President Putin spoke ahead of talks with US negotiators in the Russian capital about a draft plan that the US hopes will bring an end to the war in Ukraine.