RUSSIA IS 'READY' FOR WAR IF EUROPE DECIDES TO START ONE- PUTIN

Read Time:1 Minute, 36 Second

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses participants of the international military-technical forum Army-2023 via a video link in Moscow, Russia, in this picture released August 14, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia is “ready” for war if Europe decides to start one. He accused European leaders of trying to stop a deal on the Ukraine conflict before he met with US representatives.

The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump, were in Moscow for important talks aimed at ending the war that has lasted nearly four years.
These talks followed several days of intense diplomatic efforts.

“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin told reporters in Moscow.

“They have no peaceful agenda, they are on the side of war,” he added, repeating his claim that European leaders were hindering US attempts to broker peace in Ukraine.

He added that European changes to Trump’s latest plan to end the war “aimed solely at one thing — to completely block the entire peace process and put forward demands that are absolutely unacceptable for Russia”.

Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed it as heeding to many of Russia’s maximalist demands.

The plan to end the war is championed by Trump, but European countries fear it risks forcing Kyiv to cave in to Russian demands, notably on territory.

Fearing further Russian aggression, Europe has repeatedly said an unfair peace should not be imposed on Ukraine.

The Trump envoys are now seeking to finalise the plan with the approval of Moscow and Kyiv.