- i24news
- International
- Putin warns of 'quick and tough' response if West encroaches on Moscow's security interests
Putin warns of 'quick and tough' response if West encroaches on Moscow's security interests
Russian president's speech comes amid massive escalation in tensions over Ukraine situation, Navalny
Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual state of the nation address delivered in Moscow Wednesday night to sternly warn the West against further encroachment on Russia's security interests.
He cautioned against 'crossing a red line with Russia' and his speech came amid a massive escalation in tensions over a significant Russian military troop build up on Ukraine's north and eastern borders, near Crimea and the ongoing situation with Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
“Those who organize any provocations threatening our core security interests will regret their deeds more than they regretted anything for a long time,” Putin maintained.
The president claimed that it had become a "new kind of sport" to blame Russia "for anything" in some Western capitals.
Putin also aimed a broadside at Ukraine, which Russia has accused of cozying up to NATO in an attempt to engineer an opportunity to use force to retake the country's Moscow-backed rebel-held east.
“We really don’t want to burn the bridges,” Putin said. “But if some mistake our good intentions for indifference or weakness and intend to burn or even blow up those bridges themselves, Russia’s response will be asymmetrical, quick and tough," reported the Associated Press.
Much of Putin's address was devoted to new social spending, as the longtime leader looks to shore up support for his deeply unpopular United Russia party ahead of parliamentary elections in September.
Meanwhile, during his speech, pro-Navalny protesters gathered from about 7 p.m. across the country. Although reportedly smaller than similar gatherings at the start of the year, Russian police were thought to have detained approximately 400 people.