Vladimir Putin says that Russia is not preparing hostilities against Europe and makes the resumption of negotiations with Ukraine conditional

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Friday in St. Petersburg that Russia is “not preparing for any kind of fighting with Europe,” amid warnings from European intelligence services about possible destabilization activities attributed to Moscow. The statement was made on the sidelines of the International Cultural Forum and was reported by the Russian agencies Tass and Interfax, cited by Reuters.

Putin rejected claims that Russia was preparing for aggression against Europe. He said that some European states were preparing for a possible war with Russia, but insisted that Moscow did not intend to engage in hostilities against them.

The Kremlin leader also stated that Russia would consider resuming negotiations with Ukraine after the legislative elections won by his party, United Russia. According to Putin, proposals to resume talks remain on the table, but the alleged Ukrainian attacks on Moscow and several polling stations would be taken into account.

Putin claimed that Russia had recovered from the Ukrainian attacks and that Moscow’s response had prompted Kyiv to request a ceasefire. The most recent ceasefire mentioned took place on September 5, during the visit of U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv. The Russian president also said that he was still considering a peace agreement and accused the Baltic states of violating the rights of Russian speakers.