Paul Goble
Staunton, Jan. 14 – Nikolay Patrushev, the former secretary of the Russian Security Council who now is a Putin assistant and confidant, says that Ukraine may cease to exist already this year, that Moldova may do the same shortly thereafter and that other states which mistreat ethnic Russians may ultimately share the same fate.
In a brief interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, the Russian hardliner suggests that these countries have no one to blame but themselves and says that their policies rather than Russian pressure and in the case of Ukraine direct attacks are responsible for the destruction of “once flourishing” cities (kp.ru/daily/27651/5036217/).
The fate of Ukraine and possibly the others should be discussed in talks “between Russia and the US without the participation of other countries of the West,” Patrushev continues. The reason is simple: Neither London nor Brussels has the right to speak for Europe because many European countries now agree with Moscow rather than with Washington.
But in any such talks, he says, Moscow is not going to make any territorial concessions. The only thing these conversations will be about is getting the West and Ukraine to accept the rules of the game that Vladimir Putin has repeatedly outlined, rules that will “de-Nazify” Ukraine and keep it out of Western alliances.
Patrushev is not the only Kremlin advisor who has the ear of Putin, but he is among the most influential and his hardline position likely gives the Kremlin leader confident that those around him are quite prepared to do whatever is necessary to achieve their ends and reject any American or Western efforts to deprive Moscow of a victory.
Friday, January 17, 2025
Ukraine and Moldova Too May Soon Cease to Exist along with Other States that Mistreat Russians , Patrushev Says
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