Keir Simmons, chief international correspondent for NBC News, asked Putin at a press conference during the BRICS meeting in Russia why Russia is escalating the Ukraine war by allowing North Korea with 3000 troops to assist Russia. Simmons also hinted at Russian influence on the US election. Putin responds.
Interview
Keir Simmons
”Mr President, satellite images are said to show North Korean troops are here, in Russia. What are they doing here and wouldn’t that be a massive escalation in the Ukraine war?
And, Mr President, we are weeks away from US election. Russia again is accused of interfering, and that you have had private conversations with former President [Donald] Trump. Have you been speaking with him? And what have you been saying?”
Vladimir Putin
”Allow me to address the first part of your question.
Images are a serious matter. If images exist, they indicate something.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it was not Russia’s actions that precipitated the escalation in Ukraine, but rather the 2014 coup d’etat, supported primarily by the United States. It was even publicly disclosed how much financial support the then US Administration allocated towards preparing and orchestrating this coup. Is this not a pathway to escalation?
Subsequently, we were misled for eight years with assurances that everyone sought to resolve the conflict in Ukraine through peaceful means, specifically via the Minsk Agreements. Later on, and I am certain you have heard this as well, several European leaders openly admitted that they had been deceiving us, as they had used that time to arm the Ukrainian military. Is this not the case? It is indeed.
Further steps towards escalation involved Western countries actively arming the Kiev regime. What was the outcome? It led to the direct involvement of NATO troops in this conflict. We are aware of the actions undertaken and the methods employed when unmanned marine vehicles are deployed in the Black Sea. We know who is present there, from which European countries – NATO members they are, and how they conduct these operations.
The same applies to military instructors, not mercenaries, but military personnel. This also pertains to the deployment of high-precision modern weaponry, including missiles such as ATACMS, Storm Shadow, and so on. Ukrainian servicemen cannot execute these operations without space reconnaissance, target indication and Western software – requiring the direct involvement of officers from NATO countries.
With regard to our relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, you may be aware that the Treaty on Strategic Partnership was ratified, I believe, just today. It has Article 4, and we have never doubted the fact that the DPRK leadership takes our agreements seriously. However, it is up to us to decide what we will do and how we are going to do it, and we will act in accordance with this article. First, we need to hold talks regarding the implementation of Article 4. However, we will be in contact with our North Korean friends to see how this process unfolds.
In any case, the Russian army is acting confidently on all fronts, which is a well-known and undisputed fact. It is advancing on all sections of the frontline. Active operations are underway in the Kursk direction as well. A portion of the Ukrainian forces that invaded the Kursk Region, about 2,000 troops, has been blocked and encircled. Attempts are being made to break this group free from the outside and from within, but they have remained unsuccessful so far. The Russian army has begun an operation to eliminate this group.”
Putin about Trump:
”With regard to contacts with Mr Trump, this issue has been making headlines for years now. At one point, Mr Trump and Russia were accused of being connected. However, after an investigation conducted in the United States, everyone, including US Congress, concluded that it was utter nonsense and that nothing of the kind ever happened. There were no contacts back then, and there are none now.
Russia-US relations after the elections depend primarily on the United States. If the United States is open to building normal relations with Russia, we will do the same. If not, so be it. This is up to the future Administration.”
Sources
- NBC News: ’Nonsense’: Putin denies any contact with Trump
- Linkedin: Keir Simmons
- Kremlin.ru: News conference following 16th BRICS Summit – The President of Russia is giving a news conference following the 16th BRICS Summit
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/75385
Editor’s note: NewsVoice avoids posting active links to Russian sources due to the EU (and thus Sweden) blocking or slowing down access to them. Russia’s media and their sources are censored in the ongoing European-American proxy war against Russia, with Ukraine as a deployment area.