Putin says Russia should not 'fence itself off' from West
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia should not "fence itself off from the outside world" despite a plunge in East-West relations over the pro-Kremlin insurgency in Ukraine. Putin added during a visit to Crimea -- seized by Russia from Ukraine in March -- that an ongoing trade war…AFPPutin says Russia should not 'fence itself off' from West
18 hours agoMoscow (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia should not "fence itself off from the outside world" despite a plunge in East-West relations over the pro-Kremlin insurgency in Ukraine.Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses members of Russian State duma fractions during a meeting in Mria sanatorium near Yalta, Crimea, on August 14, 2014 (AFP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Putin added during a visit to Crimea -- seized by Russia from Ukraine in March -- that an ongoing trade war with the United States and Europe did not mean Moscow "should break ties with partners. But we should also not let them treat us with disdain."
The comments saw the Russian ruble shoot up to a nine-day high against the dollar because investors interpreted them as a signal by Putin that he preferred not to escalate the deadly Ukrainian crisis much further.
The Kremlin's relations with the West have hit their lowest point since the worst years of the Cold War because of Putin's alleged backing of Russian-speaking insurgents who are battling the pro-European authorities in the east of the ex-Soviet state.
The diplomatic tensions and European security fears were compounded last week when Putin banned the import of most meat and dairy products from the United States and EU nations with sanctions against Russia for its approach to Ukraine.
Russian news agencies quoted Putin as telling senior lawmakers and ministers in the Crimean city of Yalta that he was forced to announce the food ban to protect Russia's national interest.
But he stressed that the measure was also meant to help revive the domestic agricultural sector and permit Moscow's new allies in Latin America and countries such as Turkey play a bigger role on the Russian market.
"These sanctions are not just a response measure," said Putin.
"These, first and foremost, are a support measure for our producers. And they should also help open our markers to countries and producers that want to cooperate with Russia and are ready for this cooperation."
Ukraine has denounced Putin's visit to Crimea and refuses to formally recognise Moscow's takeover of the strategic Black Sea peninsula of nearly two million mostly Russian-speaking inhabitants.
But Putin dismissed Ukraine's protests and said Crimea should become a symbol of a powerful and unified new Russian state.
Russians should consolidate as a society "not for the purpose of waging war, not to get into conflicts or standoffs, but for hard work -- in the name of Russia and for Russia."
He added that Russia "will do everything that depends on us to make sure that the (Ukrainian) conflict ends as soon as possible."
Ukraine "has plunged into bloody chaos, into a fratricidal conflict," Putin lamented.
But he did not spell out how Russia intended to help the Ukrainian authorities reach a peaceful settlement with the rebels or to repair its relations with the West.
Moscow and Kiev are currently at loggerheads over the details of letting over 1,800 tonnes of Russian humanitarian aid into conflict-ridden areas of eastern Ukraine.
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I think Putin saying Russia should not fence itself off from the West is sort of an old KGB type of saying. After all, Putin was a Soviet KGB Colonel in the 1980s in East Germany. So, I don't really take anything he says seriously because it just sounds once again like KGB doublespeak. The whole idea is say anything you want (ANYTHING) and then do whatever you want (whether that agrees with anything you said or not) and then deny whatever you are doing. This is how the KGB (and the CIA) often accomplish things all over earth. Only now the KGB is now called the FSB and if you imagine
A Russian CIA, NSA, FBI, Federal Marshalls, immigrations service, and national police force as one thing then that is what the FSB is which is an evolution from the KGB which walled off everyone behind the iron curtain and shot or killed or tortured anyone east of the wall who tried to leave until 1991.
It was only after 1991 that people who wanted out of Eastern Europe or anywhere Soviet could leave without being secretly killed.
And it appears that Putin is slowly or quickly taking Russia back to being a new Soviet type of Union. The one change is Christianity is okay under Putin. Otherwise, he is taking the place back to the old Soviet Union while he expands the Russian Empire into Crimea, Ukraine and anywhere else he can as an opportunist over the years. Right now, this is what appears to be happening.
So, is a new Iron Curtain falling? From what I'm seeing the answer might be: "Yes".
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Putin says Russia should not 'fence itself off' from West
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