Amid talks of peace, the pale horse of Revelation appears ready to make its bloody ride through Europe and the world

Both Western and Russian leaders are openly engaging in a war of words, each accusing the other of posing a 'THREAT' to the post-WWII established order.

World leaders have been ratcheting up the war rhetoric of late to alarming levels. And it seems like Russia is in the crosshairs.

Look at some of the headlines out there from just the last two days:

• Macron labels Russia “a threat.”

• US ‘destroying world order’: ex-Ukrainian army chief

• EU must win arms race: Poland

• EU state detains six people over alleged pro-Russia treason plot

• EU agrees to raise additional $862 billion for defense

• Ukraine cut off from HIMARS targeting data (by Trump).

• Minister urges Dutch citizens to ‘prepare for war’

• China says it is ready for 'any type of war' with US

• US Defense secretary Pete Hegseth says US ready for war with China.

The headline that really grabbed my attention today was the first one on the above list. French President Emmanuel Macron’s bombastic threats against Russia while trying to make it sound like Russia is the aggressor. Yes, he even used the “N” word. N for nuclear.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday, in response to Macron’s provocative statement, that Moscow sees his words on possible use of nuclear weapons as a threat.

There’s that word again. Threat. Both sides are threatening to respond violently to perceived threats. That’s not a good sign. And it’s all over the place in the news. Are we witnessing the lead up to a global conflict, a hot war of massive scale, the kind of war Donald Trump said repeatedly he would prevent?

Macron said in a nationally televised address on Wednesday that Russia has become a direct “threat” to France and Europe as a whole. He urged his fellow Europeans to ramp up defense spending and, even more controversial, to open a discussion on the use of France's nuclear weapons to defend the entire European Union.

According to the Russian news outlet Sputnik International, Lavrov told reporters at a news conference:

“Of course, this is a threat to Russia. If he [Macron] considers us a threat, gathers a meeting of the chiefs of General Staff of European countries and Britain, says it is necessary to use nuclear weapons, prepares to use nuclear weapons against Russia, this is, of course, a threat.”

Macron has the opportunity to call Russian President Vladimir Putin anytime, and accusations that Russia is allegedly preparing a war against Europe are unfounded and “unwise,” Lavrov said.

Earlier this week, British PM Keir Starmer said he was ready to “put boots on the ground and planes in the air” in Ukraine, even though he admitted such a war against Russia could not succeed without the participation of America.

Given that truth, why doesn’t Donald Trump dial up Macron and Starmer and tell them to cool their jets? Tone down the rhetoric, boys, or get ready for some new tariffs.

Russia’s Lavrov further explained Thursday at a joint press conference with the foreign minister of Zimbabwe:

“Macron periodically proudly declares that he will definitely call Putin and talk to him. He has such opportunities. No one forbids it. On the contrary, the president (Putin) constantly emphasizes his openness to contacts with all his colleagues. And regarding these, frankly, unwise accusations of Russia preparing a war against Europe and France, Putin has repeatedly said, calling such thoughts delusional, nonsense. Probably, it is absolutely clear to any sane person that Russia does not need this.”

Lavrov also stated that Russia sees no possibility for compromise on possible deployment of European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, which it sees as a direct threat to its national security.

“We see no room for compromise. This discussion is being conducted with an openly hostile purpose. They are not hiding what they need it for,” Lavrov said.

He went on to say that President Trump’s suspension of US intelligence transfers to Ukraine confirm Russia's prior statements that such assistance was being provided to Kiev, which used it to carry out missile strikes deep inside Russia. Western provision of targeting coordinates has also been used to guide Ukrainian drones to their Russia targets.

The Ukrainians were incapable of carrying out such strikes on their own, a fact that the mainstream media never reported. Only those who read non-establishment outlets like this one would have known that U.S. military personnel have been on the ground in Ukraine for months shooting missiles into Russia. If that’s not poking the bear I don’t know what is. Now the Pentagon’s direct complicity in HIMARS missile attacks on Russia have been confirmed, albeit in a backhanded sort of way that most Americans won’t even notice.

The suspension of military aid to Ukraine from Washington may help to quickly end the Ukrainian conflict, said Lavrov, adding:

"It has been said many times that former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was right when he said, in his usual manner, that the conflict in Ukraine could be stopped very quickly, within two weeks, if military aid to the Ukrainian government was halted. This is the answer to your question. We agree with this assessment. Another thing that Josep Borrell added was that this should never be done, because first you need to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, and then dictate the terms of peace to it.”

He added that:

"We are ready for an honest conversation, taking into account all the root causes of this conflict, including, of course, the main one – Russia's security and guarantees against NATO's continued expansion into Ukraine, which would then be used to create constant threats to Russia.”

In addition, the Russian official said that French President Emmanuel Macron's statement about Russia and Ukraine was nervous and very verbose.

"Macron, as I understand it, said in his lengthy, rather nervous statement yesterday [March 5] that the war should not be allowed to end with the surrender of Ukraine," Lavrov said.

Macron is calling for a European-wide army to be raised, through compulsory conscription.

Macron has a problem, however. According to a recent poll, 65 percent of French citizens oppose going to war with Russia over Ukraine. French anti-war sentiment reaches across all age groups, but is especially intense among those under the age of 35, who would be called on to fight such a war and to pay the price.

It’s interesting how Macron framed his verbal attacks on Russia, painting them as the aggressor that wants to take over France and all of Europe. I don’t recall, in all of history, Russia ever having invaded France. That’s something that can’t be said in the reverse.

And that irony was not lost on Lavrov in his comments Thursday. Lavrov compared Macron to Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte, saying the current French President is likewise looking to impose a strategic defeat on Russia.