Vladimir Putin told Oliver Stone he believes nobody would survive a nuclear conflict between the world’s two superpowers if it ever comes to that.
The Russian president made his remarks in the much-anticipated Showtime interview with Academy Award-winning director to air next week, RT reported.
In a promo from Showtime, Stone asks the Russian leader, “In a hot war is the U.S. dominant?”
“I don’t think anyone would survive such as conflict,” Putin replies.
Stone, director of such films as “Platoon,” “JFK,” and “Wall Street,” also wonders if there is “any hope of change” for U.S.-Russian relations, considered to be at their worst since the Cold War ended.
“There is always hope,” Putin says. “Until they are ready to bring us to the cemetery and bury us.”
However, he pointed out that the U.S. and its NATO allies have intensified pressures, resulting in counter-measures to build up Russian defenses, “and if need be, new offensive systems.”
“We have to aim our missile systems at facilities that are threatening us,” he tells Stone. “The situation becomes more tense.”
The interviews were conducted from July 2015 to February 2017. The first two hour-long episodes, made available to Bloomberg, are set to air June 12-15.
The Showtime series also shows Putin, apparently unmoved, watching the classic movie, “Dr. Strangelove,” a Cold War doomsday satire about an accidental nuclear conflict between the two nations.
When the film was released in 1964, mutually assured destruction was viewed as a way to prevent a hot war. As the U.S. embarks on its project for a missile-defense shield, Putin says, “As of today a missile shield would not protect the territory of the United States.”
At times, Putin maintains a moderate tone. On offering refuge to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, Putin comments, “we were told back then that this was a person who wanted to fight against violations of human rights.”
The four-part documentary includes scenes of Putin giving Stone a tour of the Kremlin, working out, playing hockey, and even driving through Moscow while Stone interviews him.
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