Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that a direct conflict between Russia and the NATO military alliance would leave the planet one step away from World War Three.
Putin stated this in his post-election victory speech when asked to comment on French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments that Western countries could deploy troops to the ground to help Ukraine defend against Russia.
“It is clear to everyone, that this will be one step away from a full-scale World War Three. I think hardly anyone is interested in this”.
Putin added, though, that NATO military personnel were present already in Ukraine, saying that Russia had picked up both English and French being spoken on the battlefield.
President Putin said he wished Macron would stop seeking to aggravate the war in Ukraine and play a role in finding peace: “It seems that France could play a role. All is not lost yet. I’ve been saying it over and over again and I’ll say it again. We are for peace talks, but not just because the enemy is running out of bullets.
“If they really, seriously, want to build peaceful, good-neighbourly relations between the two states in the long term, and not simply take a break for rearmament for 1.5-2 years.”
