Putin: Russia doesn't fear sanctions

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says that his country will not be isolated and does not fear sanctions from the West.

Izvor: Beta

Saturday, 30.08.2008.

11:40

Default images

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says that his country will not be isolated and does not fear sanctions from the West. At the same time, Putin called on Europe not to serve the interests of U.S. foreign policy, agencies report. Putin: Russia doesn't fear sanctions The president made the comments in an interview with German ARD TV ahead of the EU summit in Brussels on Monday where the Georgian crisis and relations with Russia will top the agenda. The interview was aired on Russian TV last night. He claimed that Russia was defending its honor and the lives of its citizens in South Ossetia. “A country—Russia in this case—that can defend its honor and the dignity of its citizens, safeguard their lives... won’t be isolated regardless of the bloc-type thinking of our partners in the U.S. and Europe,“ Putin underlined. “The world doesn’t end with Europe or the U.S.,“ stressed the prime minister. He criticized European countries for their support of Russia on the issue of Kosovo independence, adding that Europe would not gain anything from “serving the foreign policy interests“ of the U.S. Putin called on the EU to adopt a “reasonable position“ towards the crisis in the Caucusus, and not to apply sanctions against Russia. “The issue of sanctions is not something that concerns us,“ he said, expressing the hope that reason would prevail. The Russian prime minister said that Moscow did not desire strained relations with anyone, but wanted only for international law to be applied. “We want good, neighborly, partnership relations with everyone. We don’t intend to play according to any special rules, we want to work with everyone on the basis of a set of rules known as international law,“ he explained. Putin said that Russia intended to withdraw its troops from the conflict zone as soon as the situation in Georgia calmed. The Russian prime minister dismissed as a “downright lie“ suggestions that Moscow had provoked the conflict with a view to toppling the pro-West Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, though he added that he believed that Saakashvili should step down. Vladimir Putin (FoNet, archive)

Putin: Russia doesn't fear sanctions

The president made the comments in an interview with German ARD TV ahead of the EU summit in Brussels on Monday where the Georgian crisis and relations with Russia will top the agenda. The interview was aired on Russian TV last night.

He claimed that Russia was defending its honor and the lives of its citizens in South Ossetia.

“A country—Russia in this case—that can defend its honor and the dignity of its citizens, safeguard their lives... won’t be isolated regardless of the bloc-type thinking of our partners in the U.S. and Europe,“ Putin underlined.

“The world doesn’t end with Europe or the U.S.,“ stressed the prime minister.

He criticized European countries for their support of Russia on the issue of Kosovo independence, adding that Europe would not gain anything from “serving the foreign policy interests“ of the U.S.

Putin called on the EU to adopt a “reasonable position“ towards the crisis in the Caucusus, and not to apply sanctions against Russia. “The issue of sanctions is not something that concerns us,“ he said, expressing the hope that reason would prevail.

The Russian prime minister said that Moscow did not desire strained relations with anyone, but wanted only for international law to be applied.

“We want good, neighborly, partnership relations with everyone. We don’t intend to play according to any special rules, we want to work with everyone on the basis of a set of rules known as international law,“ he explained.

Putin said that Russia intended to withdraw its troops from the conflict zone as soon as the situation in Georgia calmed.

The Russian prime minister dismissed as a “downright lie“ suggestions that Moscow had provoked the conflict with a view to toppling the pro-West Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, though he added that he believed that Saakashvili should step down.

Komentari 7

Pogledaj komentare

7 Komentari

Možda vas zanima

Podeli: