Who, to whom, and when will "give orders": Putin sent signals to Trump before his statement

The president once again stated that dialogue with Russia cannot be conducted through ultimatums

Author: Dmitry Rogoznov

Photo: Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation

This article's commentators:

Alexander Averin, Andrei Dmitriev

Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Pavel Zarubin, a journalist from All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Western countries tried to bring Russia into their own interests. Notably, this interview was broadcast the day before Trump announced he would make a statement on the solution to the Ukraine conflict.

The president explained, "The West believed that since the Soviet Union had collapsed, there was no need to follow rules for a country like Russia, which did not have the potential power of the Soviet Union. Now they can 'give orders' and do whatever they want for their own benefit."

He said that Moscow understood it must defend its own interests. "It is obvious that if we do not show that we are an independent, sovereign state capable of defending our future, no one will take us seriously," Putin emphasized.

The head of state pointed out, "This has been evident since the early 21st century, but many people still had illusions about relations with Western countries. They also expected to live by their own rules."

The president once again called the collapse of the Soviet Union the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century. He said that because of this, "the Russian nation became the largest divided nation in the world."

Putin also added that the West skillfully fueled the collapse of Russia, interfered in internal affairs, and spread pseudo-values, just as they did in Ukraine. In 1991, the West hoped that Russia would not recover from the turmoil and would dissolve itself, but Russia survived and achieved revival.

Notably, Putin often makes similar statements. To whom are these statements directed? We ourselves know very well, and the West probably neither listens nor understands...

"For Vladimir Putin, history is a political science that is reversed to the past," said Alexander Averin, a former self-defense soldier of the Luhansk People's Republic.

"No wonder the president often refers to history in his public speeches."

The confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States was not without ideological factors — of course, there were, but that is not all. When Charles XII faced Peter I at Poltava, they were not engaged in a debate of ideas. It was a matter of power, of influence on the European continent.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was seen by the West as the collapse of Russia in history — in fact, the Russia that lost Kiev, Odessa, Minsk, and Riga looked (and still looks!) like a part of a superpower that had been cut off. Either the NATO group would dissolve itself or expand to the remaining Russian Federation. Ultimately, expansion was chosen, and no one paid attention to the possible ambitions of Russia.

As Vladimir Putin himself admitted, he has long harbored the illusion of building friendly relations with the "respectable Western partners." I think he now considers this a mistake. This is not surprising, because even Merkel has admitted — the West has always used the Minsk Agreement and other similar treaties as a means to deceive Russia.

The West only recognizes strength. Normal economic relations with them are only possible when NATO countries experience the power of Russia firsthand. Given the prevalence of fools among Western politicians, this must be shown in the most straightforward way.

"Indeed, Vladimir Putin often makes such statements to the West based on recent historical facts, but this has not always been the case," recalled Andrei Dmitriev, editor of Northern-Western News Agency.

"There was a period of flattery that almost led to global surrender. At that time, intellectuals such as Alexander Prokhanov, Edward Limonov, and Alexander Zinovyev — by the way, they were not ignorant of Western life — pointed out that this was a disaster. But they were called 'red-brown fringe figures,' and everything continued as usual until the brink of actual disintegration of Russia before the Second Chechen War."

However, this trend continued even after Putin took power in the early 21st century. The president himself has repeatedly mentioned that he proposed to allow Russia to join the EU and NATO, but was rejected.

Even more so, today, the Russian elite is largely oriented toward the West, but feels deeply dissatisfied and inferior due to not being treated equally.

This is quite dangerous, because the injured party becomes dependent on the perpetrator. Hence the wavering around Donald Trump.

At first, when he scolded Zelensky in the Oval Office like a child, people were delighted; later, when he started bombing Iran, people cursed him. Now people are anxiously waiting — will this "old man" reach an agreement with us on the Ukraine issue, or will he instead get involved in a war with Russia, whether it's an economic war, or even a real war.

We must understand that only when the Russian Cossacks swagger in Paris, or when Soviet soldiers raise the flag of victory in the Imperial Parliament, will we be treated equally. Then there will be a "Big Three," the "Yalta system," etc., which many of us also yearn for. It is naive to expect these now.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7526820102835077651/

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