Putin to the West: ‘Let's stop being enemies’

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia had tried to build positive relations with NATO and the West, but was met with a negative response.

Putin, who spoke at a conference of international policy experts one day after overseeing a nuclear training exercise, seemed to downplay Russia's losses in its war with Ukraine and said the conflict he launched was unavoidable after years of building tension.

Despite his repeated veiled references to Russia's nuclear arsenal in recent months, Putin said he has no intention of using such a weapon in Ukraine: “There is no point in that, neither political, nor military,” he said. The Russian leader also said the world order the West imposed since the Soviet Union's collapse is "coming to an end," according to a transcript by The Telegraph.