By Vladimir Soldatkin
MOSCOW, Dec 2 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned European powers that if they started a war with Russia then Moscow was ready to fight and that the defeat of European powers would be so absolute that there would be no one left to even negotiate a peace deal.
Four years into the Ukraine war, the deadliest European conflict in Europe since World War Two, Russia has failed to conquer Ukraine, a much smaller neighbour which has been supported by European powers and the United States.
Ukraine and European powers have repeatedly warned that if Putin wins the Ukraine war then he could attack a NATO member, a claim which Putin has repeatedly dismissed as nonsense.
Asked by a reporter about remarks in the Russian media that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto had cautioned that Europe was preparing a war against Russia, Putin said that Russia did not want a war with Europe.
“If Europe suddenly wants to start a war with us and starts it,” Putin said, then it would end so swiftly for Europe that there would be no one to negotiate with in Europe. Putin used the Russian word for “war”.
He also suggested that the war in Ukraine was not a full-blown war and that Russia was acting in a “surgical” manner which would not be repeated in a direct confrontation with European powers.
“If Europe suddenly wants to fight with us and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin said.
The Kremlin chief accused European powers of hindering U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempts to end the war in Ukraine by putting forward proposals they knew would be “absolutely unacceptable” to Moscow so they could then accuse Russia of not wanting peace.
Putin said European powers had locked themselves out of peace talks on Ukraine because they had cut off contacts with Russia.
“They are on the side of war,” Putin said of European powers.
Putin also threatened to sever Ukraine’s access to the sea in response to drone attacks on tankers of Russia’s “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea.
(Reporting by Vladimir SoldatkinEditing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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