Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said the country’s strategic enemies seek to divide Russia because they think it’s "too big."
"Our strategic enemies have had the goal to disintegrate, weaken and divide our country for centuries. There’s nothing new about it. The country, it seems to them, is too big and menacing for someone, so it needs a bit of splitting up, dividing. That has always been (the case)," he said.
He said throughout centuries, "wherever you look, that was the goal," and it’s enough to read up on relevant literature to be confident that was the case.
"They have always nurtured ideas and built plans, hopes that they will succeed one way or another," Putin said.
Russia, he continued, "has always, almost always, stuck with a completely different approach, different beliefs."
"We have always sought to be part of the so-called civilized world. So, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, which we allowed with our own hands, it seemed to us for some reason that any day now we would become part of that so-called civilized world. But it turned out we weren’t welcome there, despite all our efforts and attempts. I’m saying this having in mind my own work as well. I also made these efforts, our efforts to be closer, to be part of it - no," the president said.
"On the contrary, other actions were made, including using international terrorists in the Caucasus in order to finish off Russia, break up the newly created Russian Federation," Putin said. He said many of the attendees of the meeting know that perfectly well.
The president said Russia’s enemies "seemed to pronounced an anathema to Al Qaeda (a terrorist group banned in Russia) and other criminals but it was considered acceptable to use them on the territory of Russia, they were given all kinds of support - financial, media, political one, anything they liked, including military support - so that they go to war on Russia."
Nonetheless, Putin said, thanks to the peoples of the Caucasus, thanks to the people of Chechnya, thanks to the heroism of its servicemen, Russia has been able to endure that difficult period of its history.
"We have weathered these tests and became stronger," he said.
Putin says it was obvious that clash with hostile forces in Ukraine was inevitable
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said a clash with hostile forces in Ukraine has been inevitable.
"It became obvious that clashes with those forces, including in Ukraine, were inevitable. The question was only when it would happen," he said at a yearend Defense Ministry meeting.
Putin said military operations always go hand in hand with tragedies and losses.
"We understand that perfectly well, we realize that, but because it’s inevitable, better today than tomorrow," the president said.
Putin also brought up the subject of the manifestations of neo-Nazism and fascism in Ukraine. The head of state said Russia also has them, but the government cracks down on them.
"Every country has nationalists, and we do. But we are fighting the manifestations of neo-Nazism and fascism. We do not elevate them to the rank of national policy, but in Ukraine they do, everyone pretends not to notice it," he said.
"Nationalism might seem a good thing. They fight for national interests, and no one notices that it’s done on the basis of the fascist, neo-Nazi ideology. People walk around with swastikas in the centers of major cities, including in the capital, and it may seem that’s the way everyone wants it," the president said. "It’s similar to how, in the early 2000s, they used international terrorists to fight Russia, and didn’t give a damn, sorry about ill manners, that it was a terrorist, an internationally recognized terrorist. They didn’t give a damn because they used it to fight Russia. Same here, neo-Nazis are used to fight Russia and they don’t give a damn that these people are neo-Nazis. The main thing is that they fight Russia. But we do care.".
Putin still sees Ukrainians as fraternal nation
Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that he still views the Ukrainian people as a fraternal nation.
"We have nothing to be rebuked for. I am saying this quite responsibly. We have always - and you know my position - considered the Ukrainian people to be a brotherly nation. I still think so," he stressed at an expanded board session of the Defense Ministry on Wednesday.
The Russian leader pointed out that Moscow has been trying for years to build relations with Kiev under new geopolitical conditions. "We did everything to build not just good-neighborly, but fraternal relations under the new conditions. We had been providing loans and supplying energy resources almost free of charge. For years! But no, nothing worked," the head of the Russian state insisted.
He reiterated that when Ukraine left the Soviet Union, its declaration of independence proclaimed that it was a neutral state. "I think that Russian leaders at the time also had that in mind. I am confident that it was precisely like this. So, on the whole, it is possible to understand the leadership at the time - under the conditions of that time they probably did not see any threats. A neutral state, a fraternal people, a single culture, shared spiritual and moral values, and a shared history. They did not see any threats. But no, the adversary was working very insistently, and, to their credit, effectively," the Russian president acknowledged.
That said, Putin added, Russia’s actions on building good relations with Ukraine failed to materialize.
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