Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, when asked if current events amounted to a world war 3, advised against sowing scare but admitted that dangers were growing and Russia’s opponents were escalating the situation.
“You know, there is no need to scare anyone. There are many dangers, they are growing. We can see what our current opponent is doing — they are escalating the situation. If that’s what they want, fine,” Putin told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin.
“We will always respond to any challenge. Always. When our current opponents and possible partners hear, understand and realize this, then I believe the understanding will emerge that it is necessary to seek compromises,” the president said.
Russia will build ties with other counties only on the basis of the interests of the Russian state, the president also emphasized.
“If we establish relations with someone, we will do so only on the basis of the interests of the Russian state,” he told the journalist.
Answering the question regarding the possibility for improving relations between Russia and the United States, Putin said that “everything can be done, if there is a desire.”
“We have never lost our desire,” he added.
At the same time, Putin noted that Russia is “ready to find compromises, but not to the detriment of our own interests.”
When Russia’s potential diminished during the leadership of former officials, other countries chose to knock Moscow down rather than admit it as an equal participant in the “civilized” world, President Putin recalled.
“As soon as Russia’s potential diminished, the country weakened and others started to finish it off, rather than make it an equal partner and participant in the civilized world. Unfortunately, this is the way the world operates, at least for now,” he said.
The Russian leader also said that in recent history, Russia has gone through a period where the previous generation of politicians tried to destroy their own country in order to become part of the so-called civilized world.
