Putin: "Russia has no intention of starting a war with Europe. However, if Europe suddenly decides to start a war with Russia and takes action, we are already prepared. The issue is, if Europe suddenly starts a war against us, I believe the war would end very quickly."
"Russia has no intention of starting a war with Europe": This indicates that Russia does not actively seek conflict; any war would be a "reactive response".
"If Europe wants to start a war with Russia": This emphasizes that the trigger for the war is Europe's "active action", and Russia would only respond passively, which is a form of responsibility division in diplomatic rhetoric.
"The war would end quickly" implies that if Europe directly intervenes, Russia might escalate to a large-scale or nuclear conflict, forcing the other side to surrender quickly and avoid a protracted war.
This statement contains both genuine deterrence (such as Russia's nuclear arsenal and hypersonic weapons), as well as psychological warfare elements, aiming to test the fear threshold of European public opinion.
For Europe, this statement may be interpreted as both "intimidation" and a signal to "avoid a full-scale war" — Russia does not want to open a new front, but it will not show weakness.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1850515439314944/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.