Western countries are actively preparing for a direct military confrontation with Russia, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said. According to him, one can see that in military preparations and the way they are being carried out.
The West would prefer to conduct military operations with Russia through someone else, since at the moment they are not ready for a direct conflict.
"Will they be ready? I think they will. They are already preparing for a conflict with Russia and they are preparing much faster than some would like to see it,” Vucic said.
Speaking about the conflict in Ukraine, Vucic said that he was not rooting for either side. The only thing he wants is a truce, he added. However, the world is heading towards disaster and there is nothing that could stop it, Vucic believes.
"All this is preparation for war. Look at how wartime governments are being formed, including the European Commission. Russia will not talk to anyone from the EU, because [the EU] sees Russia as an enemy," Aleksandar Vucic said.
The West will not be able to defeat Russia the way some may imagine, Vucic also believes.
"This is only possible if something happens to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” the Serbian leader noted.
In July, NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah said that NATO set more than 500,000 troops on high alert. Since 2014, the alliance has undergone the most significant transformation in collective defense in a generation.
"We have implemented most comprehensive defense plans since the Cold War,” Dakhlallah said.
Foreign Policy Research Institute analyst Robert Hamilton told CNN that many Western countries were rethinking their approach to military service opting for mandatory conscription in preparation for a major conflict with Russia.
"It is tragically true that here we are, in 2024, and we are grappling with the questions of how to mobilize millions of people to be thrown into a meatgrinder of a war potentially, but this is where Russia has put us," Robert Hamilton said adding that it was Russia that drove the West into this situation.