Putin Calls NATO Attack Fears ‘Nonsense’
By Staff, Agencies
Vladimir Putin has vowed to quickly retaliate against Europe’s “escalating militarization”, while dismissing as “nonsense” western fears that Moscow plans to attack NATO.
In a Sochi speech Thursday, Putin warned: “We are closely watching Europe’s rising militarization… We cannot ignore this for our own security.”
“I think no one doubts Russia’s countermeasures won’t be long in coming,” Putin said at the Valdai plenary, where he shares his global views.
His remarks came as 45 European leaders met in Copenhagen to boost support for Ukraine and strengthen defense against Russian threats, amid reports of Russian drone and jet incursions across Europe.
While threatening Europe, the Russian president struck a conciliatory note towards Donald Trump, despite the US leader’s recent disparaging remarks about him.
In a bid to regain Trump’s favor, Putin praised him, saying the Ukraine conflict could’ve been avoided if Trump were in power — echoing Trump’s own rhetoric.
Both Moscow and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have spent months trying to court Trump over the war in Ukraine, as the US leader has repeatedly shifted his stance.
In recent weeks, Kyiv appeared to gain the upper hand, with Trump expressing disappointment in Putin for prolonging the fighting and dismissing Russia’s economy and military as a “paper tiger”.
The Wall Street Journal Reports Trump recently authorized US intelligence and Pentagon support for Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, marking a major shift in US policy.
Zelenskyy has also lobbied Washington for Tomahawk cruise missiles, Barracudas and other long-range US-made weapons capable of hitting targets up to 500 miles away.
As on previous occasions when criticized by Trump, Putin brushed it off, seemingly counting on the US leader to change his mind.
He described Trump as a “comfortable interlocutor” who knows “how to listen” and said Moscow was seeking a “full-scale restoration” of relations with the US, praising Trump’s administration for its “directness and lack of hypocrisy”.
Responding to Trump’s “paper tiger” jab, Putin suggested it was ironic, asking: “If we’re at war with all of NATO but still a paper tiger, then what does that make NATO?”
Putin praised Trump’s Gaza peace plan, saying former UK PM Tony Blair, involved in the effort, could “make a positive contribution.”
The tone was notably harsher when it came to Europe, with most of Putin’s ire directed at the continent, blaming “European elites” for obstructing peace in Ukraine and “whipping up hysteria” in the region.
He said war with Russia is “nonsense,” adding that those who believe Moscow will attack NATO are either “incompetent” or “dishonest.”
Putin also condemned France’s arrest of a Russian “shadow fleet” tanker crew, accused of aiding drone flights that shut down Danish airports last week.
He said: “The tanker was seized without any grounds in neutral waters. This is piracy.”
On the war in Ukraine, there was no sign that Putin was seeking compromise or scaling back his maximalist goal of forcing Kyiv’s capitulation.
Despite Russia’s modest recent progress on the battlefield, he insisted that his forces were “confidently advancing” along the entire front.Putin also claimed Ukraine was suffering far greater losses than Russia – even though western estimates put Russian casualties at close to a million, higher than Ukraine’s.
“Given Ukraine’s losses, Kyiv should think seriously about starting negotiations,” Putin said.
At the Copenhagen summit, Zelenskyy urged Europe to act swiftly against Russia’s “escalating destructive actions.”
The Ukrainian president stressed that only united action can ensure real security and urged Europe to ramp up pressure now to force Russia to end the war and change its policy.
