India, Dec. 17 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday slammed what he said were calls in the West to prepare for a "major war" with Russia, describing it a 'hysteria' and 'a lie'.

Putin was responding to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's remarks in Berlin last week, where he said that the military bloc should be "prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured".

The Russian President said the people in Europe were being indoctrinated with fears of a war with Russia and accused the Western leaders of whipping up hysteria, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

"I have repeatedly stated: this is a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense about some imaginary Russian threat to European countries. But this is being don...