Putin: ‘A Generation of Doing Everything Wrong’

Stephen Lendman

Putin’s remarks are always insightful, refreshing, candid and straightforward – polar opposite Obama’s demagoguery.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper, he explained “(w)e did everything wrong from the outset” after Soviet Russia dissolved.

“We did not overcome Europe’s division: Twenty-five years ago the Berlin Wall fell, but Europe’s division was not overcome.”

“Invisible walls simply moved to the East. This created the foundation for mutual reproaches, misunderstanding, and crises in the future.”

Russia bears its own responsibility. It “failed to assert (its) national interests, while we should have done that from the outset. Then the whole world could have been more balanced.”

Cold War antagonisms never abated. On June 26, 1990, the “patriarch of European politics” German diplomat Egon Karl-Heinz Bahr presciently said:

“If while uniting Germany we do not take decisive steps to overcome the division of Europe into hostile blocs, the developments can take such an unfavorable turn that the USSR will be doomed to international isolation.”

US-dominated NATO’s eastern expansion created today’s dangerous conditions – a hostile West challenging Russia irresponsibly, risking direct confrontation. Political will for a world at peace doesn’t exist in the West. America’s rage for dominance prevents it, using NATO as a dagger targeting Russia’s heartland.

In the last generation, “when the second center of gravity in the world disappeared,” Washington intended to “reign” supreme – with “absolutely no desire to turn either to international law or to the United Nations Charter,” Putin explained.

“Wherever they became an obstacle, the UN was immediately declared outdated” – international law null and void. Washington rules alone apply.

Putin categorically rejects the notion of Russia sacrificing its sovereignty to US dominance.

“If someone is not happy with our stance, they could find a better option than declaring us an enemy every time.”

“Would not it be better to listen to us, to critically reflect on what we say, to agree to something and to look for a common solution?”

Instead, hostile relations exist. The threat of global war is greater than any time since WW II. Russia seeks peace, stability and mutual cooperation with all nations.

It wants confrontation avoided. It’s willing to compromise. It’s justifiably adamant on upholding international law – the only way to save the world from the scourge of possible nuclear war, the greatest threat humanity faces.

US-led NATO’s eastward expansion and its anti-ballistic missile system intended entirely for offense threatens Russia’s national security.

Its interests and concerns are entirely ignored. “Nobody (in the West) listens to us,” Putin explained.

We face common threats, he stressed, urging unity to combat them. Washington has another agenda in mind – regime change in Russia a longstanding objective, a prescription for confrontation.

This article was originally published at the author’s blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” See more books at: http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

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