Putin says Biden’s comments about Russia attacking Nato country ‘complete nonsense’

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said the US president Joe Biden’s remark that Russiawould attack a Nato country if he won in Ukraine was complete rubbish, Reuters reports, adding that Russia had no interest in fighting with the western military alliance.

Biden, in a speech aimed at easing the deadlock on Capitol Hill and convincing Republicans to back further aid for Ukraine, said: “If Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there.” Putin will attack a Nato country, he predicted, and then “we’ll have something that we don’t seek and that we don’t have today: American troops fighting Russian troops,” Biden said.

Biden’s comment, on 6 December, provoked anger in Moscow, and Putin addressed them again in an interview published on Sunday by Rossiya state television.

“It is complete nonsense – and I think President Biden understands that,” Putin said.

“Russia has no reason, no interest – no geopolitical interest, neither economic, political nor military – to fight with Nato countries,” he said, adding Biden was justifying his “erroneous policy” on Russia.