Answering Irada Zeynalova's question about the "Russian plans to invade Ukraine" constantly circulating in the Western media, Vladimir Putin recalled the history of the development of the situation in this country.
"The aggravation began in 2014. Before that, even though the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and part of historically Russian territories with a historically Russian population, primarily in Ukraine, had found themselves living outside Russia, we accepted that as a fact of life and felt more or less comfortable about it. We even helped those new republics to get back on their feet, and we worked, were ready to work and are still working together with their governments, whatever their foreign policy priorities,"he said.
"But what happened in 2014? A bloody coup, people were killed and burned alive. I am not talking now about who was right and who was to blame. Obviously, Ukrainian citizens were rightfully indignant and displeased at what was happening in the country. The then president, Yanukovych, had agreed to everything. Three foreign ministers – of Poland, Germany and France – guaranteed the peaceful development of the situation and the peace process. I talked with the US president at that time at his initiative. He asked me to support this process as well. Everyone agreed but then a coup took place in a day or two. What for? There is no answer. Why was it needed? President Yanukovych agreed to everything anyway. He was ready to give up power anytime. The elections and the victory of the opposition were inevitable. Everyone knew this very well. Why was it done then?"Putin noted.
According to the Russian President, the situation with Crimea and Donbass was a consequence of these events.
"Then Crimea happened. But how could we turn down the request of Sevastopol and Crimea, the people who lived there, to take them under our protection, under our wing? It was not possible. We were simply put in a situation where we could not have acted differently. Or were we supposed to just look on passively at what was happening in the southeast, in Donbass, which has only ever thought of itself as part of Russia, even during the formation of the USSR in 1922–1924? But Lenin and his comrades wedged Donbass in there by force. At first, they decided to make it part of Russia and then said the decision had to be revised,"he said.
"They revised it and created a country that had never existed before. We will not talk about it now, but this is what happened then. They crammed in there the historical lands of people whom nobody asked how or where they wanted to live. All right, this is what happened, we agreed. But we had to do something in 2014 and this led to the crisis that is unfolding today,"Putin added.
Putin recalled that the Ukrainian authorities twice tried to solve the problem of Donbass by force, although Russia tried to persuade them not to do so.
"I personally persuaded Mr Poroshenko: Anything but military operations! Yes, yes, he said and then resorted to force. What was the result? Encirclement, losses and the Minsk agreements. Are they good or not? I think they are the only possible way out. So, what is the problem? There is no desire to implement them. They adopted a law on indigenous people and announced that the Russian people who lived on this land, on their own land, were not indigenous,"he added.
Language came next. The Russians and the Russian-speaking population are being forced from their historical lands – that is what is happening.
Putin said that the impression is that Kiev is preparing for a third attempt to resolve the Donbass issue by military means.
Russia must take care of our own security, not only today and not only next week, but also in the short term.
"How is Russia to live with all this? Do we always have to stay on guard, watching what happens there and when a strike might come? This is not our choice, and we do not want this" Putin stressed.
It is for this reason that Putin responded to President Biden's proposal, who proposed that officials be appointed to negotiate strategic stability.
"We must understand how to ensure our security. With this in mind, we spoke out clearly and directly against any further eastward expansion by NATO. The ball is in their court. They need to respond in one way or another,"Putin noted.
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