Putin dismisses the possibility of war between russia and NATO as "nonsense", but at the same time, he threatens that airfields of third countries, from which the F-16s transferred to Ukraine will take off, will become "legitimate targets" for russia. He made these remarks during a meeting with military personnel in Torzhok on March 27, according to "The Moscow Times" and "DW Glavnoe" Telegram channels.
"The idea of Russia waging war against these states (NATO countries - Ed.) is nonsensical", - said putin.
He clarified that moscow has no intention of fighting NATO since the leading country in the military bloc, the United States, spends significantly more on defense than russia: in 2022, the US military budget amounted to about $811 billion, while russia's was $72 billion.
"And are we, considering this ratio, going to war with NATO? Well, that's just nonsense", - said the russian dictator.
At the same time, he threatened that if the American F-16 fighter jets transferred to Ukraine take off from airfields of third countries, these airfields "will become legitimate targets for the Russian army".
Less than two weeks ago, on March 17, putin acknowledged that russia could face a full-scale conflict with NATO.
"I think anything is possible in the modern world. But as I have already said, and this is clear to everyone, it will be one step away from a full-scale third world war", - he said at a press conference following the presidential elections.
Earlier, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announced that he would introduce a bill to designate russia as a state sponsor of terrorism according to US law, which should make secondary sanctions "more significant".