Putin says Russia does not plan to go to war with anyone – TASS

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia does not plan to go to war with anyone, but wants to dissuade other countries from engaging in conflict with Moscow, the TASS news agency reported on Monday.

Putin made the comments in a TASS interview which the Russian news agency began releasing extracts of in installments on Feb. 20. Monday’s comments were included in the sixth such installment.

The publication of the remarks came amid rising tensions in Syria’s Idlib region where Russia is backing Syrian government forces against Turkey.

(Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Andrew Osborn)