Posted BY: Daily Mail
Vladimir Putin said today that a direct clash between NATO troops and those from Russia would lead to a ‘global catastrophe’, while insisting that it was not his goal to destroy Ukraine with his ongoing invasion.
The Russian strongman also said his military mobilization for the war is coming to an end, and he has no plans for further conscriptions.
‘I hope that those who are saying this are smart enough not to take such steps,’ he said of a possible conflict between Russia and the western alliance.
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Putin was speaking in Astana during a meeting of The Commonwealth Of Independent States Summit (CIS), where he sat down with allies – most of them leaders of post-Soviet states.
Speaking at a press conference in the Kazakh capital, Putin said that the ‘partial mobilization’ he announced last month, which the defense minister said aimed to recruit 300,000 soldiers, was finishing and would be over within two weeks.
In further comments, he said he currently saw no need for ‘massive strikes’ on Ukraine now – but that could change in the future.
Fears have risen in recent weeks over the possibility of Moscow launching nuclear strikes, after suffering a series of embarrassing setbacks in Putin’s invasion.
Asked if he had any regrets over ordering the invasion of his neighboring country on February 24, Putin said: ‘No.’ He acknowledged that the war is unpleasant, but said he believed what his forces were doing was right.
Putin said he ‘doesn’t see the need for talks with US President Joe Biden over an end to the war, but suggested he was open to talks with Kyiv.
‘We should ask him if he’s ready to hold such talks with me or not. I don’t see the need, to be honest,’ Putin said, asked about a potential meeting with Biden on the sidelines of a G20 summit in November. He added that his participation in the summit hosted by Indonesia is not yet decided.
