The latest news on Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Iran. At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a series of remarks on some of the world's most pressing geopolitical flashpoints. Check out below what he said.
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Russia-Ukraine:
- "I consider the Russian and Ukrainian people to be one people. In fact, in this sense, the whole of Ukraine is ours."
- "We have such an ancient... it's not a saying, not a parable, but an ancient rule: where a Russian soldier's foot treads, it is ours."
- "We, by the way have never questioned the right of Ukrainian people to independence and sovereignty. At the same time, the grounds on which Ukraine became independent and sovereign were laid out in the 1991 declaration of Ukraine's independence, it is clearly written in black and white that Ukraine is a non-aligned, non-nuclear, neutral state."
- When asked about a potential Ukrainian use of a dirty bomb, Putin said: "This would be a colossal mistake, maybe their last mistake. We always respond to all threats that are posed to us in a reciprocal way. Therefore, our response will be very rough and, most likely, catastrophic for the regime, and unfortunately, for Ukraine itself. I hope it will never come to that."
Israel-Iran:
- "It's worrying. What is happening in the Middle East, and of course, we are very concerned about what is happening around Iran's nuclear facilities."
- "In such cases, it is better not to get ahead of ourselves in order not to harm the process, but in my opinion, there are points of possible common ground. We are presenting our position to both sides. As you know, we are in contact with Israel and our Iranian friends.
- "We are not seeking to mediate, we are just proposing ideas. And if they are attractive to both countries, we'll be happy about it. Now our proposals are also being discussed, we have contacts with our Iranian friends almost on a daily basis, so let's see."
- Then, Putin talked about Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant: "We defend Iran's right to the peaceful atom. We have built a nuclear reactor in Iran, in Bushehr. And we, despite the complexity of the situation, despite the definite danger, we continue this work. We are not evacuating our personnel from there."
World War Three:
- "It is disturbing. I am speaking without any irony, without any jokes. Of course, there is a lot of conflict potential, it is growing, and it is right under our noses, and it affects us directly."
- "And this requires, of course, not only our careful attention to the events taking place, but also the search for solutions, the search for solutions, preferably by peaceful means, in all directions."
