President Vladimir Putin has slammed the violation of Russian territorial waters by British warship HMS Defender as a 'provocation,' while speaking at his annual ‘Direct Line’ call-in show. He also claimed that London's American allies had a hand in last week's incident, near Crimea.

However, apparently casting doubt on NATO’s ‘Article V’ collective defense pact, the Russian leader claimed that, even if Moscow had sunk the vessel, it wouldn’t have led to World War III, because the 'provocateurs' know they wouldn’t be able to win.

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