President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned European powers that if they started a war with Russia then Moscow was ready to fight and that the defeat of European powers would be so absolute that there would be no one left to even negotiate a peace deal, Reuters reported. 

Asked by a reporter about remarks in the Russian media that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto had cautioned that Europe was preparing a war against Russia, Putin said that Russia did not want a war with Europe.

"If Europe suddenly wants to start a war with us and starts it," Putin said, then it would end so swiftly for Europe that there would be no one to negotiate with in Europe. Putin used the Russian word for "war".

He also suggested that the war in Ukraine was not a full-blown war and that Russia was acting in a "surgical" manner which would not be repeated in a direct confrontation with European powers.

"If Europe suddenly wants to fight with us and starts, we are ready right now," Putin said.

Putin was speaking ahead of talks with US negotiators in the Russian capital on a draft plan that Washington hopes can bring about an end to the war in Ukraine.