Following the\u00a0official ceremony in\u00a0the\u00a0St
\nGeorge Hall of\u00a0the\u00a0Grand Kremlin Palace, Vladimir Putin had an\u00a0informal meeting
\nwith graduates of\u00a0military academies.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
President of\u00a0Russia Vladimir Putin<\/b>: Once again, congratulations on\u00a0your graduation. All the\u00a0very best to\u00a0you. Take care of\u00a0yourselves, take care
\nof\u00a0your country, and\u00a0look after the\u00a0people entrusted to\u00a0you.<\/p>\n
Remark<\/b>: <\u2026> NATO countries have allowed for\u00a0launching drones from their territory at\u00a0our facilities. Do they even realise
\nthe\u00a0consequences?<\/p>\n
Vladimir Putin<\/b>: Apparently not\u00a0\u2013 though there is growing
\nunease within their societies, and\u00a0those forces that do not want confrontation,
\nthat publicly call for\u00a0building relations with our country, are gaining ground.<\/p>\n
Look at\u00a0what is happening in\u00a0Germany. All the\u00a0political forces that advocate aggression against Russia, that push for\u00a0escalation
\nand\u00a0armed conflict\u00a0\u2013 their ratings are plummeting. Every party that champions
\nthat path is seeing its support steadily decline.<\/p>\n
Conversely, those who want to\u00a0restore normal
\nrelations with us, to\u00a0stop this endless drive for\u00a0a\u00a0strategic defeat of\u00a0Russia,
\nare on\u00a0the\u00a0rise. All those who want normal relations with us. I\u00a0think it will
\nhappen; it will eventually work out.<\/p>\n
They have not yet gone so far as\u00a0to\u00a0launch
\nanything from their own territory; they understand that would invite a\u00a0retaliatory strike. I\u00a0think everyone realises that\u00a0\u2013 or\u00a0ought to\u00a0\u2013 and\u00a0so they
\nare doing everything they can to\u00a0keep their distance. When Ukrainian drones go
\nastray into the\u00a0Baltic states, for\u00a0example, they do not point the\u00a0finger at\u00a0Moscow. They admit they are Ukrainian: a\u00a0mistake, a\u00a0system glitch, diverted by\u00a0electronic warfare, something along those lines. They have not crossed that
\nline yet, though they do host defence production facilities. And\u00a0of\u00a0course,
\nweapons are still flowing into the\u00a0combat zone in\u00a0vast quantities.<\/p>\n
By\u00a0the\u00a0way, you are an\u00a0experienced man,
\nColonel, far more experienced than these very young lieutenants, and\u00a0you certainly
\nknow that they always point the\u00a0finger at\u00a0us while they keep doing that.<\/p>\n
If you noticed, it was no
\ncoincidence that I\u00a0made a\u00a0small remark. Did you notice? When I\u00a0turned the\u00a0page?
\nBecause just before I\u00a0came here, practically in\u00a0this very hall, I\u00a0had finished
\nwriting these notes. We have always, at\u00a0virtually every stage, been provoked,
\nprovoked, and\u00a0provoked. As\u00a0soon as\u00a0we began defending our interests, the\u00a0response was: \u201cLook, Russia is being aggressive.\u201d And\u00a0then they immediately
\nproceeded with everything they had originally planned.<\/p>\n
I\u00a0would also ask that this story,
\nthis account, be made available to\u00a0the\u00a0media.<\/p>\n
Before World War II, the\u00a0Soviet
\nUnion did everything possible to\u00a0prevent the\u00a0conflict. It proposed an\u00a0alliance
\nto\u00a0all the\u00a0European powers against the\u00a0aggressive Nazi regime in\u00a0Germany. But
\nthese proposals were rejected, and\u00a0those same countries began signing
\nagreements with Hitler themselves.<\/p>\n
Who signed the\u00a0agreement in\u00a01938?
\nThose same Western countries: France and\u00a0Great Britain. The\u00a0British Prime
\nMinister returned to\u00a0London, stepped off the\u00a0airplane waving the\u00a0agreement and\u00a0shouting,
\n\u201cI\u00a0have brought you peace.\u201d Though, to\u00a0be fair, there were sensible people in\u00a0Great Britain who said, \u201cNow war is inevitable.\u201d And\u00a0that is exactly what happened.<\/p>\n
After that, they turned against the\u00a0Soviet Union, and\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0same time Nazi Germany began accusing the\u00a0Soviet Union
\nof\u00a0allegedly preparing an\u00a0attack and\u00a0planning aggression. It was nonsense. Yet
\nthese accusations continued, and\u00a0unfortunately, they continue to\u00a0this day.<\/p>\n
I\u00a0have spoken about this many times,
\nand\u00a0you understand it well. A\u00a0coup d\u2019etat was staged in\u00a0Ukraine, bringing to\u00a0power a\u00a0frenzied anti-Russia regime. Then military operations began: first they
\nbegan fighting in\u00a0Donbass, using aircraft, tanks, artillery, and\u00a0other weapons
\nagainst what was essentially a\u00a0civilian population.<\/p>\n
For\u00a0eight years we\u2019ve been patient,
\ntrying to\u00a0reach agreements with them time and\u00a0time again. Then, they openly
\nstated that they would not seek a\u00a0peaceful settlement and\u00a0would not implement
\nthe\u00a0Minsk agreements. We were forced to\u00a0stand up for\u00a0the\u00a0people living there\u00a0\u2013 people
\nwho consider themselves Russians, who consider themselves part of\u00a0the\u00a0Russian
\nworld, for\u00a0whom Russian is their native language, and\u00a0who feel themselves to\u00a0be
\npart of\u00a0this shared history. All of\u00a0this ultimately led us to\u00a0do what we did.<\/p>\n
And\u00a0now, those who have come from
\nthe\u00a0front know perfectly well that our soldiers are pressing forward, advancing
\nalong the\u00a0entire line of\u00a0contact. Everywhere. There is not a\u00a0single area where
\nthe\u00a0opposite is true. These drone attacks, these strikes on\u00a0civilian
\ninfrastructure\u00a0\u2013 what is the\u00a0purpose? The\u00a0purpose is to\u00a0destabilise society.
\nWith the\u00a0entire West working on\u00a0their side, with a\u00a0massive flow of\u00a0drones being
\nsupplied, the\u00a0objective is to\u00a0create uncertainty regarding the\u00a0actions of\u00a0the\u00a0Russian Armed Forces. Meanwhile, they ignore what is actually happening on\u00a0the\u00a0frontline. Our troops are advancing every single day.<\/p>\n
And\u00a0we will reach the\u00a0point we have
\nset for\u00a0ourselves<\/p>\n
Remark<\/b>: We will help.<\/p>\n
Vladimir Putin<\/b>: I\u00a0have no doubt about that. None
\nat\u00a0all.<\/p>\n
Remark<\/b>: What about the\u00a0letter comrade Zelensky sent you back then\u00a0\u2013 the\u00a0one you called \u201cthat piece of\u00a0paper\u201d at\u00a0the\u00a0St Petersburg Economic Forum\u00a0\u2013 does that not create any prerequisites for\u00a0negotiations?<\/p>\n
Vladimir Putin<\/b>: No, such overtures do not create any prerequisites. If anything, they create conflict potential. So he sent me that piece of\u00a0paper. They keep saying, \u201cWe want personal meetings, we want a\u00a0face-to-face meeting.\u201d So what? Three days later, a\u00a0strike on\u00a0Starobelsk. What was that about? Is it their idea of\u00a0prerequisites for\u00a0personal meetings and\u00a0negotiations?<\/p>\n
And\u00a0then\u00a0\u2013 you probably know this, but if you do not, I\u00a0will tell you\u00a0\u2013 their understanding of\u00a0the\u00a0line of\u00a0contact is still very different. Our troops are now practically taking the\u00a0last parts of\u00a0Konstantinovka. Well, there are still some people hiding in\u00a0basements, shooting back. They call it a\u00a0grey zone. Wonderful. A\u00a0grey zone.<\/p>\n
We told them back in\u00a02022: leave Donbass. People do not want to\u00a0live with you. They held a\u00a0referendum, they declared their own sovereign state\u00a0\u2013 in\u00a0full accordance with the\u00a0UN Charter. Article 1 of\u00a0the\u00a0UN Charter states: \u201cAll peoples have the\u00a0right of\u00a0self-determination.\u201d The\u00a0people living in\u00a0Donbass, in\u00a0the\u00a0Donetsk Republic, in\u00a0the\u00a0Lugansk Republic, exercised that right granted to\u00a0them by\u00a0international law, by\u00a0the\u00a0UN Charter, and\u00a0declared independence. They had every right to\u00a0do so.<\/p>\n
And\u00a0after that, did they have the\u00a0right to\u00a0conclude a\u00a0treaty with us? Yes. And\u00a0they did. Our parliament ratified it, and\u00a0we were under the\u00a0obligation to\u00a0help them. We did. There are no violations whatsoever\u00a0\u2013 it is just that no one wants to\u00a0notice. Do you see? No one.<\/p>\n
No one notices what is in\u00a0our country\u2019s interests\u00a0\u2013 because no one needs it except you and\u00a0me. But we do.<\/p>\n
Remark<\/b>: Yes sir!<\/p>\n
Vladimir Putin<\/b>: Thank you, guys. All the\u00a0best.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following the\u00a0official ceremony in\u00a0the\u00a0St George Hall of\u00a0the\u00a0Grand Kremlin Palace, Vladimir Putin had an\u00a0informal meeting with graduates of\u00a0military academies.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1045515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7655],"tags":[12,7574,332,123580],"class_list":["post-1045514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-russia","tag-news","tag-president","tag-russia","tag-transcripts"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116801014837907715","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1045514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1045515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1045514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1045514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1045514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}