Russian President Putin has commented on Russia's foreign relations with partners in the West and in the East during his annual year-end press conference.
MOSCOW, December 18 (Sputnik) — Western reluctance to see Russia as an equal partner or to accept its desire to pursue its own global policy is the core problem of today's international relations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
West attempts to 'chain the Russian bear'
"The main problem of modern international relations is that our partners refuse to stop, they think they had won, they consider themselves to be an empire and that others are vassals who must be oppressed," Putin said during his annual year-end press conference.
Moscow has significantly different views with its Western partners on a number of major global issues. In particular, Moscow has repeatedly criticized the one-sided approach of the United States and its allies to the Ukrainian crisis. Moscow stresses that the interests of all parties involved, including citizens of the mostly Russian-speaking southeastern regions of Ukraine, should be taken into account, instead of blindly supporting every move Kiev authorities make.
The president also noted that the Russian desire to "preserve ourselves as a nation, as a civilization, as a state" naturally raised the fears of other players in the international arena. Putin described the Western approach to relations with Russia with an analogy of trying to put a bear on a chain.
"No matter what we do, we are always met with problems, opposition, and fights with us… Do you think that if our bear sits quietly and stops chasing piglets around the taiga, then they'll leave him alone? They won't. They will always try to put [the bear] on a chain," Putin said.
Therefore, the sanctions that have been imposed against Russia by the West should be viewed in the context of the Russian desire to pursue an independent policy in global affairs, not in the context of the Russian reunification with Crimea, the president noted.
Moreover, Western states have also been trying to decrease Russia's defense potential by creating the US anti-ballistic missile system in Eastern Europe, which NATO claims is intended primarily to counter threats from North Korea and Iran, even though there has been progress with talks concerning the Iranian nuclear program recently.
"They [the United States and NATO] have been deploying strategic missile defense elements not only in Alaska, but also in Europe, in Poland and Romania, right at our borders," Putin said.
East extends hospitality to the Russian bear
In the current geopolitical context relations between Russia and its non-Western partners have been on the rise. Primarily, this refers to China.
"We know well that China […] is our major trade and economic partner. This year the turnover will amount at $90 billion, and it is growing despite all the global economic difficulties, and it will continue to grow, I am sure," Putin told journalists.
Moreover, Russia and China work together in such major international forums, as the United Nations, which is one of the key stabilizing factors in the world politics today, according to the president.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, comprising China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan and including India, Pakistan and Iran among observers, has also gained ground recently. The range of questions the organization considers today has expanded beyond its official agenda.
Russia seeks diversification of its relations with Iran and implementation of the so-called oil-for-goods swap envisaged by a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries in August, the Russian president noted.
Nevertheless, the current intensification of Russia's ties with the non-Western partners does not mean a shift in its policy. Russia continues to insist on the establishment of a balanced multipolar system of international relations, based on mutual respect for all members of the international community. The Russian president reiterated that Moscow is ready to develop cooperation with the West, especially in the spheres of security and economy, as long as the relations are on an equal basis.
