President Putin addressed his nation on Thursday, on the key aspects of ensuring Russia’s security, and to give an update on the special military operation that is underway. His speech leaves no doubt that what is under attack is not Ukraine as such, but rather the sole-superpower ideology that has dominated Anglo-American foreign policy for the last three decades, since the end of the Cold War.
Putin emphasized that over that time period, Russia had repeatedly promoted an indivisible European architecture, but those who considered themselves the victors of the Cold War were not interested.
“As a result, the old treaties and agreements are no longer effective. Entreaties and requests do not help. Anything that does not suit the dominant state, the powers that be, is denounced as archaic, obsolete and useless. At the same time, everything it regards as useful is presented as the ultimate truth and forced on others regardless of the cost.… The fundamental norms that were adopted following WWII and which largely formalized its outcome came in the way of those who declared themselves the winners of the Cold War.”
He brought up the examples of Belgrade, Libya, Syria, and Iraq, against which military operations were conducted without legitimately derived UN Security Council support (including by lies told to the UNSC). “The combat operations conducted by the Western coalition in that country without the Syrian government’s approval or UN Security Council’s sanction can only be defined as aggression and intervention.” Yet, today members of that body denounce Russia for its actions, necessary for its own security.
The Russian president denounced the “so-called Western bloc” as an “empire of lies,” which he said is controlled by the United States.
While the USSR had been patient and non-confrontational in the run-up to World War II, this left the nation unprepared to counter the invasion by Nazi Germany. “We will not make this mistake the second time. We have no right to do so.”
Telling other nations to keep out, he reminded the world that Russia “has certain advantages in several cutting-edge weapons. In this context, there must be no doubt for anyone that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country.”
