Kuala Lumpur: The world was not on the brink of world war three, says Russian President Vladimir Putin, even if Russia had sunk the HMS Defender for trespass near Crimea.
Tensions between Moscow and London soared last week after Russia challenged the right of its vessel to transit in these waters.
Putin accuses Washington of a role in the “provocation”.
On a World War Three scenario during the standoff, Putin says: “No, of course not.”
“Even if we had sunk the ship, I can’t imagine that the world would have been on the verge of World War Three because those doing it (the provocation) know that they could not emerge as victors from such a war,” he adds.
In an interview on Russian TV programme Russian Insight last night, Putin at the time the British vessel entered Russian waters, a US strategic reconnaissance aircraft left NATO military airfields in Crete, Greece.
“They were there to uncover the actions of our armed forces with such provocations with the help of a reconnaissance aircraft.
“We saw, and we knew all of this,” says Putin before stopping himself, saying he has revealed too much.
Photo: Notizie.it
