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President Vladimir Putin has promised a “asymmetrical” and “tough” response to what he claimed were Western attempts to contain Russia.
Hours before supporters of the opposition leader jailed Alexei Navalny prepared to organize what they hoped would be the biggest protests against his government, Putin warned Western countries on Wednesday not to cross a “red line” set by Moscow.
“We do not want to burn bridges. But if someone sees our good intentions as indifference or weakness. . . They should remember: Russia’s response will be asymmetrical, it will be quick and it will be tough, ”Putin said in his annual speech on the state of the nation.
“Anyone who can provoke provocations that threaten our interests will regret it, as they have not regretted anything for a long time,” he added. “I hope no one thinks about crossing the red lines in relations with Russia. We will define where this red line is for ourselves, in all cases ”.
In his first public comments from the United States introduced sanctions against Russia last week by the SolarWinds pirate, Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2020 elections and Navalny prison, Putin claimed that “antipathetic activities towards Russia do not stop” and pledged to respond to “the brazen rudeness “.
“It has become a new sport for them, who will be the strongest to speak out against Russia,” Putin said. “They are taking Russia for no reason.”
The speech, which lasted more than an hour, was more muted than recent states in the nation when Putin took the opportunity to announce constitutional changes or show high-tech weapons capable of launching a first nuclear attack on the USA.
Putin did not mention the massif of Russia military accumulation on the Ukrainian border and made only codified references to the Navalny movement, which implied that it was part of an American strategy to overthrow Moscow’s allies in Belarusian countries in Venezuela.
Although Navalny’s followers had warned that Russia would “go down into total darkness” if the protests were unsuccessful, the size of the first demonstrations in Russia’s far east suggested that participation in planned national rallies would be lower. than in January, when more than 100,000 people protested against the imprisonment of the opposition leader.
Only about 1,000 people came to protest in Vladivostok, a city on the Pacific coast, according to local media, a quarter of the number who had expressed interest in registering on Navalny’s website. Some of Navalny’s main allies left the country in the days leading up to the rally, while police arrested several activists across the country for organizing it.
“Russia has its own interests. Interests that we will defend and defend according to international law, “Putin said. “And if someone refuses to understand this obvious thing and doesn’t want to dialogue and chooses to look at us badly, Russia will have a way of defending its position.”
He accused Western countries of tacitly approving an alleged plot to overthrow and assassinate Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’ strong president, which Russian and Belarusian security services said they had thwarted late last week.
“Unfortunately, everyone gets used to illegal sanctions for political motivation. . . he tries to impose his will on others, ”he said. “This practice is now becoming much more dangerous. By that I mean the fact that it has arisen from an attempt to organize a coup in Belarus and assassinate the country’s president. Not even these actions shameless are not condemned by the so-called Western nations.
With an eye on the September parliamentary elections and growing discontent over falling real incomes in Russia, Putin also outlined a series of new social spending plans, including $ 10,000 ($ 130) for all parents of schoolchildren who will have to be paid in August.
He also hinted at changes in Russia’s corporate tax system, while referring to likely profits for the country’s industrial groups this year. A massive oil spill caused by the Norilsk Nickel mining group had sparked discussions about a potential new initiative to make companies directly responsible for its impact on the environment, he added.
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