Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was mysteriously absent for about 10 days, apparently was ready to exercise the country’s nuclear option last year over tensions in Ukraine, which suggests that Moscow will not give up on its plans.
“We were ready to do it. I talked with colleagues and told them that this (Crimea) is our historic territory, Russian people live there, they are in danger, we cannot leave them,” Putin was quoted as saying by state-run Rossiya One. Putin said he was forced to put Russia’s nuclear arms on alert.
“It wasn’t us who committed a coup, it was the nationalists and people with extreme beliefs,” he said, adding: “I don’t think this was actually anyone’s wish -- to turn it into a world conflict.”
