Dmitry Kiselyov talks with President Putin<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken at length about Moscow\u2019s confrontation with the West, in an interview with journalist Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of Rossiya Segodnya, released just days before the country\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n
Here are the key takeaways from Putin\u2019s in-depth discussion.<\/p>\n
Non-Western nations are striving for sovereignty and are watching with interest as Russia confronts the US and its allies, Putin stated.<\/p>\n
Western elites have been \u201ctearing to pieces [the] poor peoples of Africa\u201d<\/em> and have exploited Latin America and Asia for 500 years, he claimed, adding that the West remains desperate to protect its unfair advantage.<\/p>\n Hawkish recent rhetoric by French President Emmanual Macron may have been an emotional outburst after his country retreated from its former colonial domains in Africa, Putin suggested. Paris has accused Moscow of undermining it, although Putin insisted that Russia \u201cdid not squeeze anyone out\u201d<\/em> of the continent.<\/p>\n Macron has argued that the West should have no \u201cred lines\u201d<\/em> when it comes to confronting Russia, although Moscow will respond accordingly to any nations that adopt this policy, Putin warned. Such rhetoric, however, is merely down to politicians \u201cfantasizing and riling themselves up,\u201d<\/em> he suggested.<\/p>\n Putin also claimed that sending Western troops to aid Kiev would threaten Ukraine\u2019s statehood. Poland specifically bears a grudge over lands lost to the USSR after World War II, the Russian leader argued, meaning that if Warsaw deployed military forces to Ukraine, they \u201cwouldn\u2019t leave.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Moscow remains committed to peace with Ukraine, but won\u2019t settle based on Kiev\u2019s \u201cdrug-fueled wish list,\u201d<\/em> Putin stressed. Russian security must be guaranteed in a way that bridges the gap in trust created by the West\u2019s broken promises, he added.<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s lack of frontline victories is pushing its government into reckless actions that have no military value, Putin argued, citing Kiev\u2019s attempt to establish a foothold east of the Dnieper River.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were sending their people into the meat grinder. Soldiers were literally barefoot recently [due to supply problems],\u201d<\/em> the president claimed.<\/p>\n Moscow believes Kiev is sacrificing men in the hope of concealing its desperate situation and obtaining more Western aid.<\/p>\n The US sending a significant military force into Ukraine would be a \u201cred line\u201d<\/em> for Russia, Putin stated, adding that he believes this scenario to be implausible.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us [the Ukraine conflict] is a matter of life and death; for them it\u2019s a matter of improving their tactical position [globally and in Europe],\u201d<\/em> the president said.<\/p>\n Putin insisted that Russia is ready if the US tries to \u201cplay chicken.\u201d<\/em> Moscow is prepared to use nuclear weapons and considers its arsenal \u201cmore advanced than anyone else\u2019s,\u201d<\/em> he warned.<\/p>\n Washington has enough experts in strategic deterrence, including President Joe Biden, to avoid a nuclear conflagration, the Russian leader suggested \u2013 but he added that if the US abandons its de facto moratorium on nuclear tests, Moscow will do the same.<\/p>\n The Russian arms sector needs to \u201cget the most bang for every ruble invested,\u201d<\/em> Putin insisted, stressing that the country is not the USSR, which failed to keep track of defense spending.<\/p>\n The US military is an example of mammoth\u00a0spending undermined by poor efficiency, according to the Russian leader.<\/p>\n \u201cThey spend huge money on maintaining \u2026 military bases all around the world. It goes down the black hole, no accounting possible. That is where the graft happens,\u201d<\/em> he claimed.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s development of the Avangard nuclear-capable hypersonic glider was a good investment because it \u201cnullified\u201d<\/em> the US national anti-ballistic missile system, Putin argued.<\/p>\n Kiselyov asked whether Putin actually preferred Joe Biden to Donald Trump in the US presidential race, or whether he was \u201ctrolling\u201d<\/em> the Americans when he named his favorite last month.<\/p>\n Putin revealed that when Trump was in office, the Republican had accused the Russian leader of favoring his Democratic rival.<\/p>\nNo \u2018red lines\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Kiev \u2018slaughtering its own troops for PR\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Russia ready for nuclear war<\/strong><\/h2>\n
US military bases \u2018a black hole of corruption\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Trump accused Putin of favoring \u2018Sleepy Joe\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n