Putin downplays U.S. report on need to prepare for simultaneous wars with Russia and China, calling it ‘nonsense’

Commenting on a U.S. congressional report recommending that the U.S. prepare for simultaneous wars with Russia and China, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he did not take it seriously.

In an interview, Putin said a war between nuclear powers was something “no one in their right mind” would think of, adding that “going to war with both Russia and China at the same time” was “nonsense,” and that people were “just trying to scare each other.”

“Our premise is that we want peace, and if the U.S. wants to go to war with Russia, then that’s a completely different kind of war, it’s not a special military operation,” Putin said. “[T]o say that the U.S. is preparing for war with Russia… well, we are all preparing for war, because we follow the well-known ancient principle: if you want peace, prepare for war.”