The West's latest initiatives, including the decision to allow Kiev to strike inside Russia's borders, are leading us "down a path of very serious problems."
Vladimir Putin said this in an interview given to ANSA and other international agencies in St. Petersburg, his hometown, during the International Economic Forum. Moscow, he says, could reflect on the right to react to Kiev's use of Western missiles against its territory by in turn supplying the same weapons "to the regions of the world from where attacks will be launched on sensitive sites of those countries that supply weapons to Ukraine", i.e. to NATO.
He then specifies that it is not Russia's intention to attack the Atlantic Alliance. It's something different: «You invented that Russia wants to attack NATO. Have you gone completely crazy? Look at our potential and that of NATO, we are not stupid, Russia has no imperial ambition."
The meeting takes place at the Lachta Center, Gazprom's headquarters, an ultra-modern building overlooking the Gulf of Finland. To a question from Ansa he also responded on the Italian position on Ukraine : "We see that Italy's position towards Russia is more contained than other European countries and we evaluate this appropriately". «In Italy - he adds - caveman Russophobia is not widespread and we take this into consideration. We hope that when the situation regarding Ukraine begins to stabilize, we will be able to re-establish relations with Italy perhaps even faster than with some other countries."
The Russian position on Ukraine is known but the Tsar, this time, has the opportunity to tell it live also to Western reporters: «Everyone believes that Russia started the war but instead it started when there was coup d'état in Ukraine" . He repeats that Russia intervened to help the Russian-speaking populations hit "with weapons" by Kiev. The war could end, he adds: "If the United States stops supplying weapons to Ukraine, the conflict will end within two or a maximum of three months." But what would happen to Ukraine? And the hypothesis that is being talked about in Europe, with France one step ahead of everyone, of sending soldiers to Ukraine for the Russian president is nothing new. «Western military instructors are already present on the territory of Ukraine and unfortunately for them they suffer losses. But the United States and European states prefer to remain silent."
