West News Wire: Regarding a hypothetical direct conflict between the forces of Russia and NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated to journalists on Saturday that Russia is “always prepared for any scenario.” Putin was responding to a query regarding recent near-collisions in Syria involving American and Russian planes.
Putin said, “No one wants that,” citing the conflict-prevention channels already in place that enable US and Russian officers to immediately communicate about “any crisis situation.” No side is interested in a war, he said, as evidenced by the fact that these lines continue to function. Putin continued, “If someone wants it, and that’s not us, then we’re ready.”
According to Admiral Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Centre for Syria, the Russian military has documented a total of 23 serious situations involving Russian aircraft and those of the US-led coalition since early 2023. The majority of occurrences happened in July, he added.
Russian pilots reported being targeted by Western aircraft-targeting systems in 11 instances. According to the admiral, such acts by the US-led coalition triggered the automatic activation of onboard defence systems, which caused Russian aircraft to fire decoy flares.
A potential direct clash between Russia and NATO has also been regularly warned against by Moscow, particularly in light of the current situation in Ukraine. Continued Western arms supplies to Kiev only extend the hostilities and make its Western backers engage in the conflict even deeper, Russia said.
