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Putin: Russia has no reason or interest to fight with NATO directly

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Putin: Russia has no reason or interest to fight with NATO directly
Vladimir Putin at the 4th Congress of Russian Railway Workers, on Dec. 15, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 17 denied that he has designs to attack any NATO country, reacting to the speech of U.S. President Joe Biden, earlier this month.    

Biden's speech, pushing to resolve the Congressional deadlock on Ukraine aid, said that Putin "won't stop" with Ukraine if he manages to win.

"We'll have something that we don't seek and that we don't have today: American troops fighting Russian troops."

In a comment to Russian state TV, Putin called Biden's remark "complete nonsense - and I think President Biden understands that." He claimed that Russia has no reason or interest to fight with NATO countries.    

Biden's remarks are backed by the history of Putin's Russia, which has sponsored many proxy movements in neighboring states, trying to create breakaway regions and deploying Russian troops there to "protect" the inhabitants.

Russia is currently occupying parts of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

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Igor Kossov

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Igor is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously covered conflict in the Middle East, investigated corruption in Ukraine and man-made environmental damage in Southeast Asia. He has a Master’s in Journalism from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and was published in the Kyiv Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, Daily Beast and Foreign Policy.

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