Vladimir Putin denied accusations of imperial thinking. Separately, the president explained the situation around Ukraine: its territory is used to create threats to Russia itself, so Moscow is forced to take steps such as recognizing the DPR and LPR. Earlier, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield reproached the Kremlin for seeking to restore the borders of the former Russian Empire. Kommersant FM political observer Dmitry Drize considers this issue extremely painful, primarily for the closest Russian neighbors.
Vladimir Putin wants to return to the times “when the world was ruled by empires,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield reproached during an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. In her opinion, today’s Russia wants to regain the territories lost in the 20th century, including Finland, Belarus and the list goes on. According to the American representative, this is the thinking of the past, and the modern world has gone ahead.
The answer from the Kremlin was not long in coming. Vladimir Putin received the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, at the same historic long table. The head of the Russian state categorically denied the existence of “imperial” plans. As for Ukraine, in this case there is a threat to Russian national security.
Russian President Vladimir Putin:
We foresaw, one might say, speculation on this topic, that Russia is going to restore the empire within the same imperial borders. This is absolutely not true. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has recognized all the new geopolitical realities and is actively working to strengthen our interaction with all countries, independent states that have emerged in the post-Soviet space. The situation with Ukraine is different, and this is due to the fact that, unfortunately, the territory of this country is used by third countries to create threats against the Russian Federation itself.
To date, the LNR and the DNR have agreed to recognize Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, who does not control its entire territory. There is such a militant organization – the Houthis, who are fighting in Yemen – they also support. In fact, many people welcomed Moscow’s decision, but it will be clear later how things stand in order to legally recognize it. However, Kazakhstan made it clear that it was not going to recognize the republics. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry, almost a day after the historic decision, stated that it treats it with understanding.
The fact is that the above “imperial” issue is extremely topical and, one might venture to say, painful, especially for the former fraternal republics of the USSR. And even more so for those who have problems with different breakaway territories. In particular, we can talk about Azerbaijan, which literally just regained Karabakh.
As for Kazakhstan, talks about annexing the predominantly Russian north of the republic to the Russian Federation arise from time to time. If we talk about Belarus, of course, I don’t want to aggravate it, but now there are active talks that, let’s say, deep integration is just around the corner – Russian troops are already right there. And when the “Crimean Spring” happened, this issue was also actively discussed.
Not everyone is ready to become part of the “Russian world” and feel the restoration of “historical justice”, as well as the fraternal family of peoples. And, most importantly, you can not take and sweep away all these fears at once. It’s simple: today you are a friend, and tomorrow you are a threat to national security. The world is changing. This is why some strive to join NATO – they want guarantees that they will not be released again and not joined.
Read the opinions of political observer Dmitry Drize – exclusively on the Kommersant FM Telegram channel.