Putin says Russia will use all weapons in its arsenal if any of its territory is attacked

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reiterated Moscow’s long-held position that Russia is not planning to attack European countries but will respond to aggression with “all weapons” in its arsenal.In remarks at a foreign policy forum, Putin accused the West and Europe of escalating tensions by talking about preparing for a war with Moscow in the coming years, conducting military drills in the Baltic Sea, and seizing Russian vessels.His remarks followed Moscow’s warning to NATO that it would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to defend Kaliningrad should any members of the military alliance try to cut off the Baltic exclave from the rest of Russia.Several Russian embassies in Europe this week issued statements that said Moscow has “information that NATO is preparing (an) air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad and (the) Kaliningrad region.”They accused European leaders of “playing a dangerous game” by saying Russia might attack another country or ramp up a campaign of destabilizing attacks with drones and sabotage.Moscow has called the allegations absurd.“There should be no mistake — Russia would be ready to use all its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries try to isolate (the) Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country,” the Russian Embassy in Ireland said in its statement on Tuesday.Asked at the Valdai Club forum Thursday whether Russia was on the cusp of a war with NATO or whether both were trying to intimidate each other, Putin said: “It’s not intimidation, it’s a response to an attempt to intimidate us.”Putin said that “everything is written correctly” in the earlier warning to NATO.“If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation — in this case we mean Kaliningrad, or maybe some other territories — of course, inevitably and immediately the question of Russian Federation using all weapons at the disposal of our country will appear on the agenda,” he said.Putin didn�...