Plans to attack NATO?
Putin: Biden is talking “complete nonsense”
December 17, 2023, 10:13 a.m
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If Russia wins the war against Ukraine, there could be an attack on NATO. US President Biden warns against this scenario. That’s “complete nonsense,” says Putin’s counterpart. Meanwhile, he is making a clear announcement about the war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin describes current warnings from US President Joe Biden about a Russian attack on NATO after a victory over Ukraine as “complete nonsense”. Russia has no interest in fighting with NATO. Biden had said that Russia would attack a NATO member if it defeated Ukraine. Biden had not provided any proof of this.
“This is complete nonsense – and I think President Biden knows that,” Putin said of the warnings in an interview on state television. It is just an attempt by Biden to justify his “faulty policy” towards Russia. “Russia has no reason, no interest – no geopolitical interest, neither economic, political nor military – to fight with NATO countries.”
In the past few days, however, Putin had made it clear that he still had his goals in Ukraine firmly in mind and would continue the war with undiminished severity. “There will be peace when we have achieved our goals,” he said during his annual press conference in Moscow. The “special military operation” – as Russia calls the war – is about “denazifying” Ukraine, demilitarizing it and guaranteeing its neutrality. “Either we get an agreement, agree on certain parameters, or we solve it by force,” Putin said.
The fundamental reason for the conflict is the expansion of NATO to Russia’s border, Putin reiterated. Ukraine is now also a target for inclusion in the transatlantic alliance. According to polls, a clear majority of Ukrainians are in favor of joining NATO. Approval has increased significantly since the Russian attack began on February 24, 2022.