RIA Novosti: Putin plays down threat of third world war at security meeting – Russian pundits

Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

(RIA Novosti – July 23, 2014) Having stated at a meeting of the Russian Security Council that there are no direct threats to the sovereignty of the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin has cooled the intensity of the debate about the possibility of a third world war, and also demonstrated his personal judo dexterity in relations with his opponents, political analysts have said.

Opening a Security Council meeting on Tuesday [22 July], Putin noted that while there is no direct military threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation now, NATO countries are boosting their military presence along its borders and Moscow must “appropriately and proportionately respond” to this.

He characterized the policy of the western countries as “the language of ultimatums and sanctions” and called on them to exert pressure on the authorities in Kiev for a resolution of the crisis in Ukraine, as Russian pressure on the militias alone was insufficient for peace.

“In my view, having said there is no direct threat to the sovereignty of the Russian Federation, among other things Vladimir Putin cooled the temperature of the debate about a third world war. Because lately, there has been a lot of talk that the world is on the brink of a third world war, that it is unavoidable”, political analyst Sergey Mikheyev said at a round table at RIA Novosti.

In his opinion, from the open part of the Security Council meeting, it is possible to draw conclusions that the main threat to Russia is the expansion of the NATO bloc. “As a matter of fact, Putin did not talk about any other threats”, he noted.

Mikheyev considers that the president made it clear that Russia was interested not in confrontation with the West but in a partnership, albeit conforming to its national interests.

Aleksey Mukhin, general director of the Centre for Political Information, noted that with his address the president had demonstrated his flexibility in dealing with his opponents. “I think this is paying tribute to the kind of military art which Vladimir Putin is engaged in. It is called judo and it assumes a flexible behaviour in relation to the opponent,” he said.

It is possible to judge this by a few of the positions Putin has expressed, the expert said.

“Putin underlined that Russia is not going to leave the legal field, and that means it will not take radical political steps in the near future. Rather, Putin first obliquely recognized the limited degree of influence, moral at least, Russia has with the so-called militias. And he made a move in a direction long awaited by the Europeans and the USA, among others, in the sense that Russia is ready to take part in some corrective actions,” he said.

 

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