Vladimir Putin says that Russia is ready to fight a war against Europe ‘right now’, but that they aren’t planning on it.
After a speech at an investment forum in Moscow, Putin was asked by journalists about European involvement in peace talks on Ukraine.
He accused Europeans of having “no peaceful agenda” and hindering American efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, the BBC reports.
Putin then said Europe’s demands for the end of the war were “not acceptable,” before adding: “We are not going to fight with Europe, I have already said this a hundred times. But if Europe wants to fight with us, we are ready to do so right now.”
READ NEXT: Petition to investigate ‘Russian influence’ on UK politics surges past 100,000 signatures
He suggested that European powers were making it difficult for Donald Trump to broker a peace deal.
His comments came ahead of talks between Putin, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law and adviser.
This was after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that Ukraine has agreed a 20-point peace plan with the US.
“Some things still need to be worked out,” Zelenskyy told reporters, after a 28-point plan was reworked.
“The work was based on the Geneva document, and that document has been refined,” he wrote on Tuesday.
“Our diplomats are actively working with all partners to ensure that European countries and other participants in the Coalition of the Willing are meaningfully involved in developing decisions.”