The so-called collective West aspires to "create a new Axis", similar to what Nazi Germany did before WWII, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated.
Putin recalled, speaking in an interview for Russia-24 broadcaster, that NATO had earlier agreed on a new strategic concept for the bloc.
“Last year, NATO agreed on a new strategic concept for the development of the alliance, directly stating that the bloc intends to develop relations with countries of the Asia-Pacific region… And they are directly listed, these countries, such as New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, and others... And they announced that they will create a global NATO", Putin said.
The Russian President also commented on the agreement reached at the beginning of the year between Great Britain and Japan on establishing and developing relations in the military sphere.
"That is why Western analysts themselves are saying that the West is starting to build a new axis, similar to the one that was created back in the 30s by the fascist regimes in Germany and Italy, and militaristic Japan," the president said.
Russia is not creating a military alliance with China and is not threatening any country, Vladimir Putin went on to point out, commenting on statements that Moscow and Beijing were ostensibly creating an axis that poses a threat to the West.
Although Russia and China are engaged in military cooperation, there is nothing secret about it, the president emphasized.
"Yes, we also cooperate in the military-technical sphere. We do not hide it, everything is transparent. There is nothing secret there," he said, adding that Russia and China conduct joint exercises, but Moscow also holds drills with other countries, too.
President Putin has been giving a spate of interviews for local media over the weekend, weiging in on the weapons being funneled by the United States and its European allies to the Kiev regime to fuel the ongoing proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.
Western countries won't be able to deliver enough weapons in Ukraine to outgun Russia, President Vladimir Putin assured on Saturday, when asked in an interview with Russian TV whether Moscow considers Western arms deliveries to Kiev a "threat" to its national security.
"Threats exist, of course. When weapons are supplied to a country we are in conflict with, this is always a threat. As far how they can be assessed, of course we know about the plans to supply them," Putin said.
Moscow has warned repeatedly about the consequences of these actions for regional and global security.
"We are concerned about [weapons deliveries] from the perspective that this is an attempt to prolong the conflict," Putin said, noting that "from the point of view of the logic of those who provoked this conflict and are trying to preserve it at any cost, [the supply of weapons] is probably the right decision. But in my opinion, this will only lead to a greater tragedy," Vladimir Putin emphasized.
Regarding the UK's announcement of depleted uranium (DU) munitions deliveries to Kiev, Putin did not rule out they had been "deliberately" timed to coincide with recent talks between himself and Chinese President Xi Jinping, including to discuss Beijing's much-talked about 12 point Ukraine peace plan.
The historic Moscow summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping has inflamed the rhetoric coming from Washington, London and Brussels.
Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a three-day visit to Moscow at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on March 20-22. Earlier, Chairman Xi was unanimously reelected for a third term on March 10. Observers have drawn attention to the fact that Russia became the first foreign state visited by Xi after his reelection. As the two leaders voiced growing mutual concerns over the bellicose actions by the US and its NATO allies, major takeaways of the meeting, according to a plethora of observers and analysts, serve to proove that the tectonic shift from the Western-led“unipolar world order” towards a “multipolar world” is now “irreversible”.