President Putin said that Russia will not fight NATO.
(Baonghean.vn) - Russian President Vladimir Putin called for unity among the people and ruled out the possibility of Russia attacking Europe.
RIA Novosti reported on March 28 that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with military pilots at the 344th Air Force Crew Training and Retraining Center during his visit to Torzhok. Putin called for the protection of national unity, commented on Western statements about a "threat from Russia," and explained that in such a case, there would be no special military operation in Ukraine.
"As soon as we have negative thoughts about the presence of foreigners in our country, we will destroy the country, and the victims will be the Russian people," President Putin shared, admitting that he feels worried when he hears slogans like "Russia is for Russians only." He called for serious consideration of maintaining peace among ethnic groups in the country.
"We must treat every element seriously, think carefully when pronouncing each word and phrase. Remember the fact that we have one large, unified homeland," President Putin suggested.
According to the Russian leader, inter-ethnic peace in Russia needs to be protected because Russia is a multinational, multi-religious country.
President Putin stated that Western claims alleging Russia planned an attack on Europe after Ukraine were "meaningless" and aimed at threatening their own people.
According to Putin, American satellites "fear a large and powerful Russia," although they are doing so in vain. The Russian leader emphasized: "We have no intention of provoking these countries."
"The possibility of an attack on other countries is meaningless – on Poland, the Baltic states, to scare the Czechs. It's all nonsense. It's a way to deceive the people of the West, and to squeeze more money out of them, forcing them to bear the burden," President Putin asserted.
Putin emphasized that Russia would not fight NATO, stating that it would be "pointless." He pointed out the vast difference in military spending. President Putin recalled that in 2022, the US spent $811 billion on military, while Russia spent only $72 billion. "With this ratio, are we going to fight NATO or anything like that?" Putin asked.
President Putin reiterated his assertion that it is not Russia that is advancing toward the borders of NATO countries, but rather that they have come closer to Russia.
President Putin noted that, in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia was protecting its people on its historical territories; and that if, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a security system had been built in Europe, nothing would have happened.
At the same time, President Putin expressed his belief that F-16 fighter jets, even if supplied to Ukraine by Western countries, would not be able to change the situation on the battlefield. He emphasized that if these fighter jets were launched from the territory of a third country, they would become legitimate targets for Russia.