The collective West ignored Russian attempts at dialogue, but succeeded in starting a war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
“Our proposals to create a system of equal security in Europe were rejected, initiatives on joint work on the problem of missile defense were rejected, warnings about the unacceptability of NATO expansion, particularly as concerns the former republics of the Soviet Union, were ignored,” Putin said, speaking with leaders of the factions of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, on Thursday.
NATO always considered “even the very idea of Russia’s integration into the North Atlantic Alliance” in the aftermath of the Cold War, even “at the time of our then-seemingly cloudless relations” with the bloc, as “absurd” to its members, Putin said.
Instead, the Russian president said, the United States and its allies managed to spark a new conflagration after decades of hostile, aggressive policy toward Moscow.
“We are told and hear today that we started the war in the Donbass, in Ukraine. No, it was started by the very same collective West which organized and supported an unconstitutional armed coup in Ukraine in 2014, and then encouraged and justified the genocide carried out against the people of the Donbass. They are the direct instigator, the culprit of what is happening today,” Putin said.
West Has Already Lost the War It Started
“If the West wanted to provoke a conflict, to move from one stage of its conflict with Russia to a new stage of ‘containing’ our country, it can be said that they succeeded to a certain extent. A war was unleashed, and sanctions were introduced,” Putin said.
“But they should have understood that they already lost. From the very beginning of our special military operation. Its start also meant the beginning of a radical breakdown of the American-style world order,” he stressed.
“It must be understood that this process is already impossible to stop. The course of history is inexorable. And the attempts of the collective West to impose its new world order on the planet are doomed to failure,” Putin added.
Russia Hasn’t Even Gotten Started in Ukraine
“We hear today that someone wants to defeat us on the battlefield. Well, what can I say? Let them try. We have already heard that the West wants to fight us ‘to the last Ukrainian’. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people. But it seems that everything is heading in this direction. Everyone should be aware that we, by and large, haven’t even started anything. At the same time, we do not reject peace talks, but those who do must understand that the longer [the conflict drags on], the more difficult it will be for them to come to an agreement with us,” he said.
‘Totalitarian Liberalism’ Won’t Succeed
Putin accused the West of trying to impose a model of “totalitarian liberalism” on the planet, “including the notorious cancel culture, widespread prohibitions."
"They are imposing it on the whole world, or trying to impose it. But the truth and reality is that the peoples of most countries do not want such a life and such a future. They strive for substantive, real sovereignty, not its formal, decorative form. And they are simply tired of kneeling down and humiliating themselves before those who consider themselves ‘exceptional’,” he said.
Sanctions Blitzkrieg Has Backfired
Commenting on the unprecedented sanctions pressure placed on Russia since February, Putin admitted that while the restrictions have created difficulties, their outcome hasn’t been at all “what the initiators of the economic blitzkrieg against Russia were counting on.”
“Their goal was to sow discord and unrest in our society, to demoralize people. But even here they’ve miscalculated. Nothing came of it, and I’m certain that nothing will come of it,” he said.
As for the move by some foreign companies to leave the Russian market, Putin said that this cloud could have a silver lining. “It’s bad that there may be less competition. But we need to support internal competition,” he said. “Everything that has happened lately showed that the fundamental, basic foundations of the Russian economy have turned out to be much more stable than our ill-wishers over the hill thought.”
West Doesn’t’ Want Country Like Russia in the World
The US and its allies do not want a country like Russia, Putin suggested.
“Why [didn't NATO consider Russian membership in the bloc]? Because they do not need a country like Russia. That’s why they have supported terrorism and separatism in Russia, internal destructive forces and a fifth column in our country,” he said, adding that these forces continue to receive the West’s “unconditional support.”
Pointing to the general trends toward the strengthening of Russia’s sovereignty amid the special operation in Ukraine, Putin said that this was a “side effect,” not a goal, of the campaign. “The main goal, as I have said before, is the defense of the Donbass and the strengthening of the security of Russia itself,” he said.
Putin's meeting with Duma leaders featured a live, televised discussion with party leaders, including the ruling United Russia party, as well as the opposition Communist Party, A Just Russia, the New People Party and the Liberal Democratic Party. The opposition provided the president with a number of recommendations and proposals on domestic economic and social policy, and party leaders met with Putin one-on-one after the public portion of the event.