Russian President adviced European states to rely more on themselves than on military blocks or the U.S.
European leaders should not depend that much on their military blocks or the U.S., while making decisions of national interest, says Russian President Putin.
“It would be great to see Europe show more independence and sovereignty, and the ability to stand up for its national interests – the interests of its peoples and countries,” Putin said. He also hopes that another war in Europe is out of the picture.
Russian President added that joining “any military-political organization [or] military-political bloc” undoubtedly makes states to give up a certain level of their sovereignty. Putin gave an example of France, which withdrew from NATO in 1960s to preserve its sovereignty to a greater extent, and then France fully returned to the military bloc only in 2009.
Putin stressed that “it is not our business to analyze the foreign policy of European countries. But you must admit that if we have to discuss inter-European affairs with European partners in Washington, this is not very interesting.”
He also mentioned that the U.S. has been “pursuing an imperial policy for a long time.” In addition, he cited the opinion of some American political analysts who “believe that this imperial angle hurts the U.S.”.
Putin explained that Russia’s stance on U.S. foreign policy “has nothing to do with anti-Americanism,” adding that Russians “have respect and great love for the USA, and especially for the American people.”