Vladimir Putin really IS preparing for World War Three and ‘is ready to attack the West if provoked over Syria’, ex-ambassador reveals
Former British ambassador to Moscow Sir Anthony Brenton says Vladimir Putin will never back down if challenged over Russian aggression
VLADIMIR Putin is ready for World War Three and will NEVER back down if provoked, a British ex-ambassador has warned.
Sir Anthony Brenton, who served in Moscow between 2004 and 2008, also said Russia-West relations are the worst he has seen in 20 years.
Citing disagreements over the Crimea, Ukraine and now Syria, he warned of the current "second Cold War" developing into a "hot war".
In a column for , he wrote: "Senior military officers have talked explicitly of the likelihood of war with the West, even though Putin vowed he had no intention of attacking Europe.
"They are behaving as toughly and aggressively as I have ever seen them.
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"If we act on Syria in any way that could escalate to a Russian attack, they are signalling as clearly as they can that they would retaliate."
However, he noted today's Russia was not as powerful as its Soviet predecessor, and said Putin did not want war - because he would lose.
Recent posturing through the Channel, Kaliningrad and Aleppo showed Putin signalling that war "must be avoided", he claimed.
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