Putin says Russia does not plan to attack Europe but will respond to any aggression

Russia has “no intention of attacking anyone”, but will respond to any aggression, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, as Moscow increases its warnings against Western military activities around its territory. The Russian president spoke at the Valdai forum in Moscow, against a backdrop of growing tensions between Russia and European countries.

“We are not going to attack anyone, but we will respond if we are faced with aggression,” Vladimir Putin said. He also assured that Moscow was not planning to attack a European country, “neither in 2030 nor in 2050”. “We are not threatening anyone and we are not planning to attack any European country,” he insisted.

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The head of the Kremlin, however, renewed his warnings regarding Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave located between Poland and Lithuania. “If a threat appears against the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, we will consider using all the weapons in our arsenal,” he said, adding that Russia had a “competitive advantage in the defense” of its territory. “We don’t scare anyone,” he also said.

“The world is at a turning point”

These statements follow Moscow's warnings this week against NATO that it could resort to its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons, if the Alliance tried to isolate Kaliningrad. In a diplomatic note consulted by the Reuters agency, Russia also raised the possibility of strikes against decision-making centers of NATO member countries.

Vladimir Putin also delivered a broader vision of an international order that he considers to be in full transformation. “The world is at a turning point in its evolution,” he said, judging that the continuation of international conflicts was “unfortunately, very likely” in the coming years. According to him, the current upheavals fuel “ambitions and the desire to take risks” to obtain gains considered considerable.

The Russian president also warned of the nuclear risk. “Can we be certain that this weapon will never be used? Of course not. We must keep this in mind and avoid it,” he said. He said technologies could lead to “global destruction” and called for thinking about how to preserve international security and avoid “catastrophic scenarios”. According to Vladimir Putin, the global situation will nevertheless eventually improve as what he describes as “Western hegemony” weakens. He finally denounced Western military exercises and the arrests of Russian ships as an “escalation”.