Putin says Western calls for preparation for war with Russia ‘a lie’

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to Secretary of United Russia party’s General Council Vladimir Yakushev during their meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow. (AP)

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that there were some calls in the West to prepare for a major war with Russia and he described this as “hysteria” and “a lie.”
He also said that if Ukraine and the West abandon peace talks, then Russia will take the lands it claims in Ukraine by military means.