Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a press conference with Russian journalists at the summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in Minsk on June 27, argued that while Europe denounces Russia as an “aggressive power,” it is Europe that is actually guilty of aggression through NATO expansion up to Russia’s borders and large increases in military spending, both of which are based on a single premise: “the alleged aggressiveness of Russia. But in reality, the exact opposite is true,” he said.
The start of the special military operation in Ukraine “is now being used as the cut-off point for all these discussions,” Putin said. “Yet no one says a word about how we, how all of us, arrived at this special military operation. How did it begin? It began with them deceiving us, blatantly lying to us, or as our people say, simply ‘conned’ us regarding NATO’s non-expansion eastward. After all, the whole world knows what was promised to Russia: not one inch eastward would NATO advance. And then came wave after wave of expansion.”
“What have we always said?” he asked rhetorically. “That the security of one country or a group of countries cannot be ensured at the expense of the security of another country—a principle enshrined in international documents agreed upon by all. But what happened in practice? Expansion after expansion. Meanwhile, we were constantly told: ‘You shouldn’t fear this, it poses no threat to you.’”
Putin noted that while Russia considered NATO expansion to be a threat, the West simply dismissed Russian concerns, “refusing to acknowledge or even consider our position.”
“We know better than anyone what threatens us and what does not. It is our right to determine the level of our own security and the threats that may approach us from any direction. Yet no one listened, and they all continued down this path,” he continued. “Is that not aggressive conduct? It absolutely is—aggressive behavior that the West refuses to acknowledge.”
