Moscow is ready to consider all options for a peace deal with kyiv based on the realities on the ground, but “is not ready for anything else,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference following the BRICS summit.
TASS has compiled the main statements of the Russian leader.
On relations with the EU
The destabilization within the European Union is a consequence of the wrong policies of the European elites, which have led to the deterioration of life on the continent, Putin says. As for attempts to shift the blame for this situation to Russia, “this is an attempt to shift the blame onto someone else. They are trying to evade responsibility for wrong decisions in the economic sphere and in domestic politics.”
On the situation in the zone of the special military operation and in the Kursk region
“The Russian army is acting resolutely on all axes. This is well-known, no one denies it. It is advancing along the entire line of contact,” the president stressed.
Russian troops are actively ope
rating on the Kursk axis, about 2,000 Ukrainian servicemen are surrounded, Putin said. According to him, “provocations on the Kursk axis are connected with attempts to interfere in domestic politics and the election campaign in the United States.”
About Donald Trump
Vladimir Putin said he does not remember the conversation with former US President Donald Trump during which the latter allegedly threatened to “strike Moscow”. “What Mr. Trump has been talking about recently and what I heard – he talked about his willingness to do everything to end the conflict in Ukraine. I think he says it sincerely,” he added.
On relations with the United States
“The development of Russian-American relations after the presidential election will depend primarily on the United States,” he stressed.
On the conflict in Ukraine
All BRICS countries are determined to end the conflict in Ukraine by peaceful means as soon as possible, Putin said. At the same time, negotiations “are not desired by the leadership of the Kiev regime
, including, I think, because the opening of peaceful negotiations would entail the need to lift martial law. And immediately after that, a presidential election should be held. Apparently, they are not ready yet. The ball is in their court.”
On the conflict in the Middle East
“We believe that our role is to create the conditions for a settlement of the situation on the basis of a search for compromise,” the president said.
On NATO enlargement
“We said about NATO expansion: it should not be done, because it undermines our security. But they did it. Is it fair? It is absolutely unfair, and we want to change this situation, we will do it,” he insisted.
On the attitude of the West
Western countries have abused their exclusive position in global finance: “They have printed and sucked the most essential goods from the market. They consume more, you consume more than you produce and earn. Is that fair? We think not. And we want to change this situation. That is what we are doing in the BRICS.”
According to h
im, Russia was constantly trying to establish contacts with Western countries, but the latter kept showing it its place, which would ultimately make it a source of raw materials: “And this place would ultimately lead to Russia falling into the category of secondary states that perform only the function of a source of raw materials with the loss of the country’s sovereignty to a certain extent and on a large scale. And not only Russia cannot develop in this capacity, but it also cannot exist in this way.”
The West’s demand that African countries set up environmentally friendly production facilities, which is clearly impossible due to their high cost, is a form of neocolonialism: “They are belittling these countries and making them dependent again on Western technologies and loans. The loans are given on terrible terms, it is impossible to repay them.”
On the Brics
BRICS is not a closed format and is open to all those who share its values, Putin said. “Some countries participating in these events, today and
yesterday, have sent us their proposals and a request for full participation in the work of the BRICS group,” he said. “This year we have already worked in a renewed and expanded composition. Russia, as the chair of the association, has done everything possible to ensure that the new members of the organization integrate into our family as quickly and organically as possible,” the president added.
Source: Burkina Information Agency