IN BRIEF: Olympic truce, Navalny and buffer zone: what Putin told reporters after polls
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Putin: NATO-Russia War Would be 'One Step Away' From WWIII
The Facts
After claiming a landslide victory in the Russian election — one which the West alleged was neither free nor fair — Pres. Vladimir Putin warned of the prospect of a "full-scale Third World War" if a conflict between Russia and NATO were to break out. "I think hardly anyone is interested in this," he said.
Putin made the comments after he was asked by a Reuters journalist to react to remarks by French Pres. Emmanuel Macron. Earlier this month, the French leader suggested the possibility of NATO troop deployments in Ukraine.
The Spin
Pro-Russia narrative
The way the world is going, it's not unforeseeable that Russia could be in conflict with NATO — a step that would be one removed from World War III. No one wants this scenario, and Russia remains open to respectful negotiations. In their absence, Russia will continue fighting for its independence and sovereignty.
Anti-Russia narrative
After Russia's so-called "elections" where nine out of 10 people are said to have voted for Putin, the autocrat is once again threatening the world with the prospect of global war, hoping to deter using bullying tactics of intimidation.
Nerd narrative
There's a 63% chance that one year after a bilateral ceasefire or peace agreement is reached in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, the Wikipedia article for it will state that neither side was the victor, according to the Metaculus community prediction.
