Putin's peaceful NATO claims echo pre‑Ukraine invasion rhetoric, warns American Institute for the Study of War

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ISW experts dissected Vladimir Putin's interview on December 17 with Russian state television "Russia 1". In this, he threatened Finland while simultaneously insisting that the Russian Federation harbored no plans of going to war with NATO.

"Putin's assurances of his peaceful intentions towards NATO ring hollow in light of recent threats directed at North Atlantic Alliance member countries, masterminded by Putin and Kremlin experts," reports the latest study.

Emphasis was placed on Putin's recent statements, where he claimed a lack of interest in attacking NATO. These bear a strong resemblance to the assurances coming from the Kremlin at the turn of 2021-2022—right before February 24—insisting that Russia had no intention of attacking Ukraine.

"This interview was likely intentionally designed to bolster the Kremlin's attempts to portray Russia's military threat to NATO as an illusion," posited the Institute for the Study of War. The analysis highlighted Putin's long-term efforts—over the past two decades—to weaken and limit NATO's effectiveness by demanding constant changes to the Alliance.

In prior analysis pieces, the ISW observed that during the annual teleconference with citizens, Vladimir Putin maintained his staunch stance demanding Ukraine's complete capitulation, with the West implied.

The American analysts reported that the Russian leader seized this opportunity to reiterate the Kremlin's objectives in Ukraine, while not proposing any definitive pathway towards victory. It was noted that Putin dedicated substantial time to discussing the war, emphasizing the supposed successes of Russian forces in the Zaporozhye region and the reduction in Western aid to Ukraine. He once again discussed the need for Ukraine's "demilitarization" and compelling NATO to abandon its plans for alliance expansion.

Putin repeated his lack of enthusiasm for negotiation with Ukraine, proclaiming that peace would only ensue once Russia accomplished its objectives on its own terms, noted the ISW analysts.

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Source: ISW