Russian lawmakers emphasize that Putin’s address was a call for peace and talks
Pre-empting western interpretations of the presidential address to parliament as saber rattling, several Russian lawmakers explained the stating of Russia’s strength. The aim was furthering peace, equality and justice, they said.
Head of the Upper House Foreign Relations Committee Konstantin Kosachev told RT that the parliamentary address that Vladimir Putin delivered on Thursday could share the fate of Putin’s 2007 historical speech in Munich.
“Just as the Munich speech was mispresented as an aggressive and assertive one, analysts will seek messages in this speech which will present Russia again as an aggressive and assertive country,” the senator said.
“This is definitely not the case because Putin was very clear on the message that Russia does not threaten any country, Russia does not challenge any country and Russia does not plan to force its national interests on any country,” Kosachev said.
The senator went on to point out that Russia has been invinting western nations to hold talks and sign treaties for years and decades without any proper response from the US and its allies. He then expressed hope that the international community will listen attentively to Putin’s latest statements and eventually find some “windows of opportunities,” because collective effort is the only way to tackle common threats.
Senator Aleksey Pushkov said in comments to RT that he thought that the main message of Putin’s address to the international community was very clear: “don’t even think of using any kind of weapons against Russia and don’t have any illusions about Russia’s strength in the military field.”
Pushkov noted that certain circles in the United States tend to calm themselves by calling Russia “a weak regional power” but the presentation made by the Russian president had made it absolutely clear that any speculations about Russia’s supposed weakness were total nonsense.
However, the senator also stressed that the display of strength was not aimed at intimidation. Putin suggested a reconsideration of the western strategy of strategic encirclement, as well as the US strategy of creating new weapons that can overcome the Russian strategic nuclear potential.
“He says this is meaningless, you will not achieve anything so let us sit down and talk. I am absolutely sure that now we will see a hysterical reaction from the US mass media, but it is important to stress that there is a second part to Putin’s message – it is not just a display of our capabilities, it is also an offer to discuss and come to some solutions,” Pushkov told RT.
On Thursday President Vladimir Putin delivered an address to the Russian Federal Assembly; a joint session of the two chambers of the Russian Parliament. The president spoke on a wide range of issues, touching upon the economy, the social situation and the environmental issues, but the part that caused the most intense reaction from audience and media alike was the description of Russia’s newest weapons, complete with 3D graphic presentations. Putin then said that this demonstration was neither a threat nor a bluff, but another attempt to persuade western nations to solve contradictions through talks rather than resorting to military force.
