Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his annual live call-in show in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that an incident involving a British destroyer in the Black Sea could not have triggered a global conflict, even though Russia sank a warship because the West knows it cannot win such a war.
The stern statement indicates that he shows his resolve to bet if a similar incident happens again.
Speaking at the marathon call-in show, Putin also revealed that he received the domestically manufactured Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine and urged Russians to vaccinate as the country began a devastating spike in cases and deaths amid widespread hesitation to get the shot. Struggling with growth.
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Putin was asked about the June 23 incident in the Black Sea, in which Russia said one of its warships fired warning shots and that a warplane dropped bombs en route to Britain’s HMS Defender so that it could be found near Crimea. to be forced from the area which Moscow claims to be its territorial. Water. He said a US reconnaissance plane had also joined to test Russia’s response in what he described as a “provocation”.
Britain, which did not recognize Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea like most other countries, insisted the defender was not fired and said it was sailing in Ukrainian waters. “HMS Defender was operating a flawless passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law,” Britain’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
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The US Defense Department did not immediately comment on Putin’s claim that a long-range US reconnaissance plane flying from the Greek island of Crete was working in conjunction with a British ship.
Asked whether events could trigger a global war, Putin replied that the West would not risk a full-scale conflict.
“Even if we were to sink that ship, it would be hard to imagine that it would put the world on the brink of a third world war because those who do know that they cannot emerge victorious in that war.” And that’s very important,” Putin said. The statement followed warnings from Russian officials that if a Western warship re-enters the waters, the military could fire at it.
Putin said, “Even if we sink that ship, it will not put the world on the brink of a third world war because those who do know that they cannot emerge victorious in that war.” , and that’s very important.” The statement followed warnings from Russian officials that if a Western warship re-enters the waters, the military could fire at it.
Putin alleged that the US plane’s apparent mission was to oversee the response of the Russian military to the British destroyer.
“It was clearly provoking, a complex that involved not only the British but also the Americans,” he said, adding that Moscow was aware of America’s intentions and responded accordingly to avoid disclosing sensitive data. gave.
The Russian leader lamented that the move was taken after his summit with US President Joe Biden in Geneva this month.
“The world is going through a radical change,” he said. “Our American partners have realized this, and so did the Geneva meeting. But on the other hand, they are trying to secure their monopolistic stance, resulting in threats and destructive actions such as exercises, provocations and sanctions.
Putin insisted that Russia would firmly defend its interests.
“We are fighting for ourselves and our future in our region,” he said. “It is not us who have traveled thousands of kilometers (miles) to come to him; These are the ones who have come across our borders and violated our territorial waters.”
Carnegie Moscow Center director Dmitry Treinin warned that last week’s Black Sea event predicts a new, risky level of confrontation.
“The latest attempt to expose the Russian ‘Red Line’ resistance as hollow—whether on land, in the air or at sea—will prompt Moscow to defend what it loses its self-respect.” Can’t give without,” said Trainin. A Comment. “This will almost inevitably lead to conflict and casualties, which will risk further escalation. If that happens, the Russia-NATO conflict will really worsen to the point where there is a really bleak scenario.”
Putin on Wednesday also reaffirmed his claim of close ties between the Russian and Ukrainian people, but accused Kiev of hostility to Russia and expressed doubts about the value of the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him the Western Vanguard. said.
“Why meet Zelensky if he has put his country under complete foreign control and the major issues for Ukraine are decided not in Kiev but in Washington, and to a lesser extent in Paris and Berlin?” Putin asked.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba retorted in a tweet, saying that Putin wants Ukraine’s issues to be decided in Moscow. “This is our country and it is only up to us to decide our fate,” he said.
Earlier this year, Russia strengthened its forces near Ukraine and warned that Moscow could intervene if Kiev used force to reclaim areas controlled by Russia-backed separatists since a conflict there in 2014. Was furious. Moscow later pulled back some troops, but Ukrainian officials said most of them remained close to the border.
Putin spent much of the “Direct Line” show discussing domestic issues – typical of the tightly choreographed annual rites that helped to shed his image as a strong leader caring for the needs of the people. is. There was no question about Russia’s troubled opposition and Putin’s most prominent political foe, Alexei Navalny, who is in prison.
He expressed hope that the country can survive the nationwide coronavirus lockdown amid a surge of new infections. Reported deaths in Russia hit a daily record on Wednesday, with officials reporting 669, but Putin argued that decisions by regional authorities to make vaccinations mandatory for some workers should help stem the increase.
Russia has been recording more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases and nearly 600 deaths every day since June 24. On Wednesday, 21,042 new infections were recorded.
Russian officials have blamed June’s increase on Russians’ lax attitude toward caution, the rising prevalence of more infectious forms and lower vaccination rates, experts who attribute widespread hesitation to getting the shot and limited vaccine production capacity. . Although Russia was among the first to deploy the vaccine, more than 15% of the population has received at least one shot.
Amidst this hesitation, Putin revealed that he had received the Sputnik V vaccine. Putin took his first shot out of the public eye in late March and remained silent about which vaccine he chose.
About 20 Russian regions, from Moscow and St Petersburg to the far-eastern region of Sakhalin, have made vaccinations mandatory for some workers this month.
On other issues, Putin said that Russia has no intention of banning Western social media platforms, but stressed that the government only wants to follow the law, remove inappropriate content immediately and open offices in Russia. .
“We tell them: ‘You’re spreading child pornography, or instruct (how to) suicide, or how to make a Molotov cocktail. … you should take it down,’ and they just don’t listen, whatever we do Says don’t want to hear him,” Putin said. “But this is wrong.”
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