(Bloomberg) — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that a full-scale war in the broader Middle East would be a global “catastrophe” and said he hopes it won’t happen. “War is already going on there — it is low-intensity, but this is war,” Putin said at a news conference in Moscow after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday.
“People get killed. It’s a fact.” Putin was responding to a question about U.S.-Iranian tensions after the targeted killing of an Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq and the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet near Tehran by a missile that Iran said was fired in error. “We would like to avoid major military actions,” Putin said. “If this happens, it will be a catastrophe not only for the Middle East region but for the whole world.” READ MORE
