Writing in the New York Times, he said: "No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorisation."
The article appeared on the newspaper's website at the same time as US Secretary of State John Kerry headed to Geneva for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on a Russian plan that could see Syria give up its chemical weapons.
On Wednesday the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council - Britain, the US, France, Russia and China - met to discuss what to include in a new resolution requiring that Damascus' chemical weapons stockpile be secured and dismantled. They left Russia's UN mission without commenting.
In his commentary Mr Putin maintained his steadfast support of Syrian president Bashar al Assad, writing that there was "every reason to believe" that it was not the regime but rebel forces who used sarin gas in an attack on August 21.
He asserted that the rebels did so to "provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons".
He said he doubts that such interventions are in the long-term interest of the US. He also said millions around the world increasingly see America "not as a model for democracy, but as relying solely on brute force".
"We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilised diplomatic and political settlement."
He added: "A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilise the Middle East and North Africa.
"It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance."
He issued his warning one day after US President Barack Obama postponed a threat to strike Syria, after Mr Assad's regime welcomed the Russian plan to gather and destroy its chemical arsenal.
In an address from the White House on Tuesday, Mr Obama said he had asked US lawmakers to delay a vote on whether to authorise military action while Washington studies the Russian initiative.
He made his appeal after a long build up to war in which he sought congressional approval for military strikes against Syria for using chemical weapons on its own people.
But the US leader in his speech gave assurances there would be no military force for the moment, given the Russian plan.
"This initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force, particularly because Russia is one of Assad's strongest allies."
The US President added there would be no military force used until UN weapons inspectors had delivered their report into what happened.
Mr Kerry said he has already discussed Russia's disarmament plan with Mr Lavrov by telephone and, while Washington remains cautious, he said he found the ideas interesting.
