Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Monday that Russia and NATO are just one step away from conflict and are close to World War 3. Putin emphasised that few desire this catastrophic outcome.

Reuters reported that French President Emmanuel Macron last month said he could not rule out the deployment of ground troops in Ukraine in the future, with many Western countries distancing themselves from that while others, especially in Eastern Europe, expressed support.

When asked by Reuters about Macron's remarks and the risks and possibility of a conflict between Russia and NATO, Putin quipped: “Everything is possible in the modern world."

“It is clear to everyone, that this will be one step away from a full-scale World War Three. I think hardly anyone is interested in this," Putin told reporters after winning the biggest-ever landslide in post-Soviet Russian history.

Adding that there is already NATO presence in Ukraine and that Russia has picked up English and French from Ukraine, Putin further said that, “There is nothing good in this, first of all for them, because they are dying there and in large numbers," he said.

Putin also said, “I do not exclude that, bearing in mind the tragic events taking place today, we will be forced at some point, when we deem it appropriate, to create a certain 'sanitary zone' in the territories today under the Kyiv regime."

Reuters also reported Putin saying that France should stop its aggressive approach against Russia in Ukraine and rather work with them in finding peace. He said, “It seems that France could play a role. All is not lost yet."

"I've been saying it over and over again and I'll say it again. We are for peace talks, but not just because the enemy is running out of bullets," Putin said.

"If they really, seriously, want to build peaceful, good-neighbourly relations between the two states in the long term, and not simply take a break for rearmament for 1.5-2 years."

On being asked about the recent Russian elections where Putin secured another and the allegations about democracy in Russia by the west and especially the US, Putin said, "The whole world is laughing at what is happening there". He added, “It is just a catastrophe - it is not democracy - what on earth is it?"

This development comes amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war which has created a hostile environment between Russia and the west which is probably at its peak since the Cuban missile crisis during the cold war which was at its prime in the 1960’s.

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