Vladimir Putin: Russia Has No Imperial Ambitions, No Intention to Attack NATO

“Russia’s attack on NATO? Are you out of your mind?” In these terms, Russian President Vladimir Putin refuted statements by leaders of the Atlantic Alliance and some Western countries, including Germany, that we should prepare for war against Russia. In a large interview given on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum (SPIEF-2024) to a group of major international news agencies, the Russian president said that the Russian threat was invented by the West: “You made up that Russia wants to attack NATO. Are you out of your mind? This is nonsense, total drivel,” Putin said, inviting international public opinion to compare the nuclear capabilities of NATO and Russia, which, according to the Russian leader, “has no imperial ambitions.”

Putin used a variety of tones and expressions to define the current situation and prospects for relations with various Western countries. As for relations with Italy, the Russian president expressed hope that relations between Moscow and Rome could be quickly restored after the normalization of the situation in Ukraine. “We see that Italy’s position (towards Russia) is more restrained than in other European countries, and we make note of this,” Putin further emphasized, adding that “cave Russophobia is not spreading in Italy, and we remember this. We hope that when the situation around Ukraine starts to stabilize, we will be able to restore relations with Italy, perhaps even faster than with some other countries.”

Later, answering questions from a German journalist, Putin warned Germany that Ukraine’s use of its weapons to strike targets inside Russia would be a “dangerous step” and would spoil relations between Berlin and Moscow. Unlike Italy, Germany recently joined the United States in authorizing Ukraine to strike targets on Russian territory with long-range weapons that the Bundeswehr supplies to Kiev. “If the Ukrainians use German missiles to hit objects on Russian territory, it will completely spoil relations between Russia and Germany,” emphasized Putin, according to whom “the West believes that Russia will never use nuclear weapons, but if its sovereignty, its integrity is threatened, Russia can use all necessary means.”

Supplying Western weapons to Ukraine is a “very dangerous step.” The USA should stop supplying arms to Ukraine, after which “the conflict will end within 2-3 months,” Putin added, explaining that this was his response to a letter from US President Joe Biden, described as an old-school politician and being “predictable,” in which the Kremlin demanded that the White House stop military aid to Kiev.

As for the overall relationship between Russia and the USA before and after the November 5 election, Putin said nothing will change regardless of whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump wins the US presidential election. “We will work with any president elected by the American people. I say this with absolute sincerity, we do not believe that after the election something will change on the Russian front in American politics,” said the Russian president, according to whom “Trump’s conviction in court for illegal payments to porn star Stormy Daniels was the result of using the judiciary as a party in a domestic political struggle. There is an ongoing prosecution against Trump.”