Russia is open to resuming contacts and restoring relations with European countries, President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting of the Military-Industrial Commission, according to a transcript published on the Kremlin's Max channel.
Putin said some European leaders were seeking to convince their populations that the threat of conflict with Russia was growing. He said Western politicians were using such claims to justify what he described as excessive spending on support for Kyiv.
“If we speak frankly, Russia has no aggressive intentions toward the West,” Putin said, according to the transcript.
“We are ready for cooperation and to restore relations with our European neighbours,” he said.
Putin also said European voters had made clear in elections that they did not want a war with Moscow. According to the Russian president, voters were casting their ballots against conflict, and European leaders should take that signal into account.
He said European politicians were seeking to shore up declining approval ratings through bellicose rhetoric, while having made numerous mistakes in economic and social policy.
Putin also said Moscow was monitoring European military exercises in the Baltic Sea, during which, he claimed, countries had practiced scenarios involving the seizure of civilian vessels.
The Russian president urged Europe to “live in peace” and said Moscow would respond if threats emerged. He added that such threats were not diminishing.
At the meeting, Putin and government officials also discussed a draft of Russia’s new state armament programme. Russia plans to establish serial production of modern weapons systems and military equipment, with the aim of ensuring that the armed forces are prepared to respond rapidly to emerging threats.
Putin reiterated that Russia would enter into a war with Europe only under one circumstance: if European troops were deployed to Ukraine. Such a move, he said, would result in a direct confrontation between Russia and European forces.
The Russian president also criticised Western discussions about deploying a foreign military contingent to Ukraine.
By Tamilla Hasanova
