Edited By: Shankhyaneel Sarkar
Last Updated: February 21, 2023, 15:27 IST
Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 21 in his state of the nation speech accused western elites of starting the war in Ukraine (Image: Reuters File)
Russian President Putin in his address to the nation’s parliament accused the West of starting the war in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday addressed the Russian parliament in Moscow where he accused the West of starting the war in Ukraine and claimed Russia used force in order to stop it.
Putin said that Russia was open to the idea of holding dialogue and pursuing the path of diplomacy with the West and remained open to an equal system of security, but claimed Moscow received “dishonest answers” – referring to NATO’s expansion.
In his speech, he accused the West – targeting the US and its allies – of trying to turn a local conflict into a global conflict. “We will react in an appropriate way. We are talking about the existence of our country,” Putin said.
Putin also fired a warning towards the US, without naming the country, who has been giving Ukraine military assistance for the past one year. “The more long-range weapons are sent to Ukraine the longer we will have to push the threat away from us. Step by step, we will carefully and systematically solve the aims that face us,” Putin said.
The speech also carried the theme of the West falling out with Russia. Putin said the Western nations want “to be done with Russia”. “Western elites are not hiding their goal – to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. It means to be done with us once and for all,” Putin said.
He also said the sanctions aimed at punishing Russia have backfired and those countries who announced sanctions are doing so by troubling their own citizens and blaming Russia for their pains.
“They provoked a growth of prices in their own countries, the closures of factories, the collapse of the energy sector, and they are telling their citizens that it is the Russians who are to blame,” Putin said, according to the Guardian.
He said that the Western countries have shown economic aggression towards Russia. “They have not achieved success in either of these areas. The initiators of the sanctions are punishing themselves,” he said.
The Russian President said Ukrainian citizens became “hostages of their western masters” and those people have occupied the country in political, economic and military terms. He said the regime led by President Volodymyr Zelensky is serving national interest but rather serving the interests of foreign powers.
He also thanked the residents of areas that Russia has annexed for siding with Moscow. “I would like to express a special gratitude to the citizens of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. You yourself determined your future. You made your choice despite the threats of terror of the Nazis. Next to you there were military actions taking place, and you made the choice to be together with Russia. To be together with your motherland,” Putin said, according to the Guardian.
The Russian President also attempted to wade into the culture war territory in his speech. He touched on gender equality, same sex marriage and accused the West of attempting to destabilize Russian society. He also said Russia is tolerant of homosexuality.
(this is a developing story, more details are being added)
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