Putin says Russia is 'ready' but does not want war with Europe, warning 'there will be no winners'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia does not want a war with Europe but is prepared for one, speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday evening, 29 October, after the third Russia-Africa Summit, according to the Kremlin transcript.

“Many talk only of preparing for war by 2030,” Putin said. “First of all, we are ready – but we do not want any war with Europe. And if someone wants one, let them prepare.” He said they had not achieved their goal of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia and that this was unlikely to be possible by 2030. “And if it goes too far, there will be no winners at all – let no one forget that,” he said.

Putin was answering a question about his 27 October phone call with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. He said the two leaders had called on their own initiative and in a national capacity, not on behalf of the EU, and that he thought the call was “the right thing to do”, although they were criticised for it afterwards. Vedomosti reported that the Danish and Swedish prime ministers were among those who criticised the call.

On the Baltic Sea, Putin said Stubb had raised compliance with the international law of the sea and that Russia supports that approach. “Does anyone want the same situation in the Baltic as in the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz? … We do not want that – but we will respond to any challenge,” he said.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin “was open, he is open, and he will remain open” to contacts with Europeans, and that “if reason still prevails in Europe” the number of politicians in contact with Moscow would increase, TASS reported.