The Russian President also noted that Ukraine has been made a tool for undermining the foundations of the country's security
ST. PETERSBURG, July 29. /tass/. The West has been preparing for a hybrid war with Russia for many years, trying to damage its position in the world and undermine statehood, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the African mission to Ukraine.
"We believe that the problem did not arise yesterday and was provoked by some forces in the West, who for many years were preparing for a hybrid war with our country, did everything to turn Ukraine into a tool to undermine the foundations of the security of the Russian Federation, to damage Russian positions in the world, and to undermine our statehood. I say this with good reason," Putin said.
He assured that Moscow had carefully studied the proposals of African states to resolve the situation in Ukraine. "We have carefully analyzed the thoughts and considerations expressed by our African friends, we take this very seriously and with great attention," the Russian president said. He expressed hope that his African colleagues "well understand the nature and origins of this crisis." "We tried to convey our vision of this problem," Putin said.
Addressing the participants of the meeting, the President of the Russian Federation noted: "I know that you sincerely strive to provide possible assistance in achieving a just and sustainable resolution of the conflict, and we, of course, very much appreciate your balanced approach, as well as the fact that you have not supported and do not support anti-Russian rhetoric, anti-Russian campaign."
Against coups
At the same time, Putin drew attention to the words of the Chairman of the African Union that the countries of this continent are against coups. "I completely agree with this. But the second problem that led to today's crisis is the coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014, it was precisely a state unconstitutional armed bloody coup that Western countries actively supported," the Russian president said.
According to him, Western countries "disregarded all norms of international law and publicly said that they supported this coup, and even said the amount they spent on it, without any hesitation."
He explained: "In 2014, the Ukrainian authorities began, in fact, fighting against part of their people, using aviation, heavy equipment, tanks against those who did not agree with the coup supported by the West."
"That's how the West started the war in Ukraine, that's exactly how it was. It is impossible to deny it. For our part, we have done everything to resolve this crisis peacefully by participating in the signing of the so-called Minsk agreements, which the Kiev authorities derailed without fulfilling anything of these agreements with the support of the West," Putin said.
In this regard, the President of the Russian Federation continued, Moscow "had to recognize the independence of certain territories." "And we have not done this for eight years, we have been trying to achieve a peaceful settlement for eight years - and we signed an agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance with these newly formed states, all within the framework of the UN, and within the framework of these agreements we responded to their call for help in full compliance with Article 51 of the UN Charter," he explained the President of the Russian Federation.
