Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin in his election victory speech said Russia would not be “intimidated” as he became one of the longest-serving Russian leaders in more than 200 years.
“I want to thank all of you and all citizens of the country for your support and this trust. No matter who or how much they want to intimidate us, no matter who or how much they want to suppress us, our will, our consciousness — no one has ever succeeded in anything like this in history. It has not worked now and will not work in the future. Never,” Putin said early Monday morning, according to a report by news agency AFP.
Putin also said there are risks of World War III if a conflict breaks out between Russia and the US-led NATO military alliance. He said it would mean that the world is one step away from World War Three. He quickly pointed out that no one wanted such a scenario.
Putin’s remarks came after French President Emmanuel Macron’s interview to French television this week and his comments last month where he appeared hawkish on Russia.
Macron this week said France must ensure Russia does not win the Ukraine war and last month said he could not rule out the deployment of ground troops in Ukraine in the future.
Putin said “everything is possible in the modern world” while reacting to Macron’s comments. “It is clear to everyone that this will be one step away from a full-scale World War Three. I think hardly anyone is interested in this,” Putin said, adding that they picked up both English and French being spoken on the battlefield.
“There is nothing good in this, first of all for them, because they are dying there and in large numbers,” he said, while speaking to Reuters after winning the biggest ever landslide in post-Soviet Russian history.
“There is nothing good in this, first of all for them, because they are dying there and in large numbers,” he said, while speaking to Reuters after winning the biggest ever landslide in post-Soviet Russian history.
