President Putin: We Are Ready If Europe Wants To War With Russia

JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin insists Russia is ready if Europe wants to fight and will beat him quickly, assessing the bloc has locked itself out of conflict peace in Ukraine.

President Putin on Tuesday stressed that Russia does not actually want war with Europe, answering reporters' questions about statements in Russian media, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has warned Europe is preparing for the war against Russia.

"If Europe suddenly wants to start a war with us and start it," President Putin said, then the war would end so quickly for Europe that no party would be invited to negotiate in Europe, reported Al Arabiya (3/12).

President Putin further said the war in Ukraine was not a massive war and Russia acted in a "split" manner that would not be repeated in a direct confrontation with European powers.

"If Europe suddenly wants to go to war with us and start, we are ready right now," he stressed.

The Kremlin chief accused European powers of obstructing US President Donald Trump's attempts to end the war in Ukraine by submitting proposals they knew would be "completely unacceptable" by Moscow so they could then accuse Russia of not wanting peace.

President Putin said European powers had locked themselves in from Ukraine's peace negotiations because they had cut contact with Russia.

"They are on the war side," President Putin said of European powers.

Four years after Ukraine's war broke out, the deadliest conflict in Europe since the Second World War, Russia failed to conquer Ukraine, a neighboring country much smaller but supported by European powers and the United States.

Ukraine and European powers have repeatedly warned that if Moscow wins the Ukraine war, they could attack NATO members, a claim President Putin has repeatedly denied.