Putin praises Trump but warns support for Ukraine will ‘damage relations’

MOSCOW (TIP)- Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States that supplies of long-range missiles to Ukraine will seriously damage relations between Moscow and Washington but will not change the situation on the battlefield, where the Russian army is making slow but steady advances.
The potential supply of U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv will signal a “qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the U.S.,” Putin said at a forum of international foreign policy experts in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The Russian leader noted that even though Tomahawk missiles will inflict damage on Russia if supplied to Ukraine, Russian air defenses will quickly adapt to the new threat. “It will certainly not change the balance of force on the battlefield,” he added, emphasizing that the Russian military is continuously making gains against Ukraine.
Asked about Trump dismissing Russia as a “paper tiger” because of its failure to defeat its smaller neighbor after more than 3 1/2 years of fighting, Putin argued that Russia has faced all the NATO allies backing Kyiv.
“We are fighting against the entire bloc of NATO and we keep moving, keep advancing and feel confident and we are a paper tiger; what NATO itself is?” he said. “A paper tiger? Go and deal with this paper tiger then.”
A White House official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity said Russia’s economy and reputation have taken a battering because of the war as Putin has repeatedly rejected proposals for a peace deal that would have benefited his country.
At the same time, Putin hailed U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to help negotiate peace in Ukraine and described their August summit in Alaska as productive.
“It was good that we made an attempt to search for and find possible ways to settle the Ukrainian crisis,” he said, adding that he felt “comfortable” talking to Trump. Putin also reaffirmed his offer to the U.S. to extend their last remaining nuclear arms control pact for one more year after it expires in February. The 2010 New START treaty limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers.
“If they don’t need it, we don’t need it either,” he said, adding that “we feel confident about our nuclear shield.”
While praising Trump and trying to emphasize potential common interests, the Russian president sent a stern warning to Ukraine’s Western allies against trying to seize ships that carry Russian oil to global markers. He argued that would amount to piracy and could trigger a forceful response while sharply destabilizing the global oil market. Source: AP