Yesterday, TASS published an interview with Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Potsdam Conference. “The anniversary of the Potsdam Conference provides an opportunity to reflect on the past as a mirror of the present. In doing so, we must use the ‘correct lenses’ without being naive or considering the events of July 1945 in isolation from the centuries-long attitude of European, or, more broadly, Western elites toward our country,” Medvedev said. “Revising or breaching the decisions from the Potsdam Conference was just a continuation of Western policies regarding Russia from before the war or even earlier.
“Since the time of Peter the Great, when Russia established itself as a European power, we have witnessed a consistent trend of hostility, distrust and attempts to weaken our country in Western actions. ... To Western elites, an independent and strong Russia has always been a historical anomaly and a very effective rebuff to the idea of their supposed ‘civilizational superiority.’ Fear and reluctance to engage in dialogue with other nations gives rise to villainy and aggression. This is why Western elites have been making repeated attempts to isolate Russia and avenge their past failures.
“So, in 1945, the Potsdam [Conference] was not a prelude to lasting peace, but rather it paved the way for the Cold War. And today’s developments—a proxy war, or actually a full-out war involving the launch of Western-made missiles and satellite reconnaissance, sanctions packages, and loud statements on militarization in Europe—are yet another attempt to destroy the `historical anomaly’ that the West hates so much, to destroy our country.
“So, the Potsdam Conference taught us that relations with the West should not be based on illusions.”
