Russia is not preparing to attack Europe, but "will think carefully" before resuming peace talks with Ukraine after recent attacks on Russian territory, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, as quoted by Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
"Many in Europe say that they expect aggression from the Russian Federation and that is why they should prepare for military action, for war with Russia", Putin said during a press conference at the International Cultural Forum in St. Petersburg.
"But I would like to emphasize once again that we are not preparing for any military action against Europe", he added.
At the same time, Putin stressed that Russia "will think carefully" before returning to peace talks with Ukraine after the recent attacks by about 1,600 Ukrainian drones on Russian territory on September 20, the last day of the country's parliamentary elections.
"Proposals to resume negotiations, yes, there are indeed those on the table, but after everything they (the Ukrainians, AFP note) have done, we will think carefully about what we should do in response," he said.
"They are the ones who started everything. Everywhere, on every front. Are these toys, is this a child's game?", Putin stressed to the media.
"Therefore, they must feel Russia's retaliatory strikes and understand that no provocative actions and no intensification of tension in order to achieve a certain result will work. They are only worsening their own situation," he added.
US mediation efforts since Donald Trump's return to power led to several rounds of talks between Moscow and Kiev in 2025, but they have yielded no results and the process has been stalled since the start of the Middle East war in February.
During previous talks, Moscow and Kiev have generally remained on their previous positions, with the talks mostly facing disagreements over the issue of Ukrainian territories that Russia claims to have annexed, AFP recalls.