Russia must use all the tools at its disposal to inflict damage on European nations responsible for escalating the Ukraine conflict, Dmitry Medvedev has said.
Moscow should use political, economic and hybrid methods to “punish” the US-aligned part of Europe and “foster every destructive process” which might affect it, the former Russian president, who currently serves as deputy chair of the Security Council, said in a Telegram post on Friday.
Medvedev reasoned that Russia should adopt its own version of the policy he said Washington had during the 2003 Iraq invasion. It was summed up by the phrase “punish France, ignore Germany, forgive Russia,” attributed to Condoleezza Rice, the US National Security Adviser under President George W. Bush.
The variant that Moscow should pursue after “the end of the Western hybrid war against Russia” would require forgiving “weak nations who fell under Western influence,” primarily those in Asia and Latin America, ignoring the US, since “no friendship with them is expected in the next 100 years, and going to war with America would cost too much” and punishing Europe, Medvedev said. He branded European nations opposing Russia “deceitful,” “brainless” and “bloodthirsty” and largely responsible for the continued bloodshed in the Ukraine conflict.
The senior official said his suggestions were prompted by claims that a Norwegian ship refused to take on the crew of a sinking Russian vessel.
The freighter Ursa Major went down in waters between Spain and Algeria on Monday. A Spanish ship recovered 14 crew members from the doomed Russian transport, while two remain unaccounted for.
Russian state shipping company Oboronlogistics, part of the Defense Ministry, has blamed a “terrorist attack” for the disaster, saying witnesses reported three explosions in Ursa Major’s stern.
In a statement published by RIA Novosti on Thursday evening, the operator claimed that the Norway-flagged ship Oslo Carrier 3 was in the vicinity, but refused to pick up the crew, citing an unspecified “ban.”