Russia does not want a war with Europe but if Western nations keep attempting to “inflict a strategic defeat” on Moscow they may get one, President Vladimir Putin has threatened.
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin made remarks about relations with European states and the broader West during his Russia-Africa summit in Moscow on Thursday, claiming to be a dove of peace while threatening a World War-like conflict if he isn’t left to pursue his strategic goals. Kremlin state media publisher TASS reported that President Putin recalled a century and more of European history in this warning, stating “the tragic pages of history” bring a warning against World Wars, and claiming Russia is attempting to prevent “anything like this happens on a global scale” again.
If any war were to come, Putin said, it would not be Russia’s fault. Nevertheless, the Russian Federation is ready to fight Europe and the West, he assured.
The problem for Putin is that “some” want to “inflict a strategic defeat on Russia”. He went on: “Many people are talking about preparing for war by 2030. Is this right or wrong? First of all, we are prepared, but we don’t want any war with Europe… as for them, if someone wants it, let them prepare. However, they failed to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia this time and it is unlikely to become possible by 2030”.
Warning that these attempts to defeat Russia through Western support for Ukraine could “go too far”, and should way come “there will be no winners”.
Moving beyond the historic comparisons, President Putin pointed to the recent Iran war, as he threatened a second Gulf crisis in Europe’s northern sea, the Baltic. Lined by NATO and European Union members and even called a “NATO lake” since Sweden and Finland joined the alliance, Russia has two major ports on the Baltic, with St. Petersburg in the far east and its Kaliningrad [Konigsberg] exclave nestled between Poland and Lithuania.
He said: “there will be a situation similar to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Does anyone want the same situation to develop in the Baltic Sea as in the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz? I don’t know. We don’t want that… We do not want this. But we will respond to any challenge.”
Such rhetoric has become part of the geopolitical background since Russia re-invaded Ukraine in 2014, with frequent threats alternating with protests that Russia only wants for peace, and is working to avoid a third world war. This was the case in February 2024, when President Putin accused NATO of bringing “all humanity to the brink of destruction” and claiming Western governments were merely using him as a pretext to increase taxes.
In March 2025, Kremlin spokesman Maria Zakharova said the attempt to — as she saw it — draw Russia into a wider war with Europe is an “Anglo-Saxon plot” that threatens a global “bloodbath”.
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