PRESIDENT PUTIN’S STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS

April 21, 2021

Geopolitcal considerations

“The meaning and purpose of Russia’s policy in the international arena is to ensure peace and security for the well-being of our citizens, for the stable development of our country. Russia certainly has its own interests we defend and will continue to defend within the framework of international law, as all other states do.  And if someone refuses to understand this obvious thing or does not want to conduct a dialogue or chooses a selfish and arrogant tone with us, Russia will always find a way to defend its stance.

At the same time, unfortunately, everyone in the world seems to be used to the practice of politically motivated, illegal economic sanctions and to certain actors’ brutal attempts to impose their will on others by force. Clearly, there is a reason why our Western colleagues have been stubbornly rejecting Russia’s numerous proposals to establish an international dialogue on information and cyber security. We have come up with these proposals many times. They avoid even discussing this matter.

Unfriendly moves towards Russia continue unabated. Some countries have taken up an unseemly routine where they pick on Russia for any reason, most often for no reason at all. It is some kind of a new sport of who shouts the loudest.  In this regard, we behave in an extremely restrained manner, I would even say, modestly, and I am saying this without irony. Often, we prefer not to respond at all, not just to unfriendly moves, but even to outright rudeness. We want to maintain good relations with everyone who participate in the international dialogue. But we see what is happening in real life. As I said, every now and then they are picking on Russia, for no reason. We really want to maintain good relations with all those engaged in international communication, including, by the way, those with whom we have not been getting along lately, to put it mildly.  We really do not want to burn bridges. But if someone mistakes our good intentions for indifferences or weakness and intends to burn or even blow up these bridges, they must know that Russia’s response will be asymmetrical, swift and tough. Those behind provocations that threaten the core interests of our security will regret what they have done in a way they have not regretted anything for a long time. At the same time, I just have to make it clear, we have enough patience, responsibility, professionalism, self-confidence and certainty in our cause, as well as common sense, when making a decision of any kind. But I hope that no one will think about crossing the ‘red line’ with regard to Russia. We ourselves will determine in each specific case where it will be drawn.

Russia is always open to broad international cooperation. We have consistently advocated the preservation and strengthening of the key role of the United Nations in international affairs and we try to provide assistance to the settlement of regional conflicts and have already done a great deal to stabilize the situation in Syria and to launch a political dialogue in Libya. It is on the basis of mutual respect that we are building relations with the absolute majority of the world’s countries: in Asia, Latin America, Africa and many European countries. We are consistently expanding as a priority contacts with our closest partners in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and our allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

Our common projects in the Eurasian Economic Union are aimed at ensuring economic growth and the wellbeing of our people. There are new, interesting projects here, such as the development of transport-and-logistics corridors. I am sure they will become a reliable infrastructure backbone for large-scale Eurasian partnership. The Russian ideas of this broad, open association are already being put into practice, in part, via alignment with other integration processes. All these projects are not just geopolitical ideas but strictly practical instruments for resolving national development tasks