MOSCOW
Russian President Vladimir Putin snubbed democracy in the US, citing former US President Donald Trump’s criminal prosecution as an example of the “rottenness of the American political system.”
Speaking at a plenary session of the 2023 Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s city of Vladivostok, Putin said Trump’s affair demonstrated to the entire world the “rottenness of the US political system.”
“For us, what is happening today (in the US), in my opinion, is good. This shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to lecture others about democracy,” he stressed.
Everything that happens to Trump is a “politically motivated prosecution,” and it is being done “in front of the public of the US and the whole world, exposing the US internal problems,” he said.
“This reveals who is fighting against us,” he said, hinting at the US, and adding, “It demonstrates the ‘bestial guise of American imperialism,’ its bared teeth.”
Donald Trump, the US president from 2017 to 2021 and the Republican Party’s most likely candidate in the 2024 presidential elections, is charged with multiple crimes, ranging from tax evasion and harassment to putting pressure on officials and attempting a coup.
The politician faces a lengthy prison sentence on numerous charges.
‘Ukrainian saboteurs trained by UK instructors’
Commenting on Ukraine’s attacks inside Russia, Putin said Ukrainian saboteurs captured during an attempt to damage a nuclear facility in the country confessed to being trained by British instructors.
“Recently, during clashes on our territory, the Federal Security Service captured — several people were killed, the rest surrendered — a sabotage group of Ukrainian special services. Their task was to undermine the electric power lines to one of our nuclear power plants to disrupt the operation of the power generator,” he explained.
The Russian president asked the British leadership if they understood their responsibility for training saboteurs who planned an attack on a nuclear power plant in the Russian Federation.
“This not the first attempt of the kind. During the interrogation, they (saboteurs) confessed that they were trained under the guidance of the British instructors. Do they realize what they are doing? Do they provoke us to take action aimed at Ukrainian nuclear facilities, and nuclear power plants?
“And in general, is the British leadership, (particularly) the prime minister, aware of what their special services are doing in Ukraine?” he questioned.
The president said it is possible that the UK specialists in Ukraine are acting on orders from their US colleagues, which the British government is unaware of.
“I know that after my words, another howl will begin — this is a threat, nuclear blackmail. They may claim that the confession was made at gunpoint. No, this is not the case. The leadership of British intelligence agencies knows that I am telling the truth,” he stressed.
“Such things really disturb me as they (the UK) feel no boundaries, which may lead to serious consequences,” he warned.
On Aug.10, the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Andriy Yusov, admitted that the Shaman battalion, a unit of special forces of the GUR, conducts sabotage attacks on Russian territories.
“The fact that the special forces of the GUR are operating effectively, not only on the front line but also behind the front line… It’s true, it’s not news,” Yusov said in an interview with the Ukrainian media. He also admitted that the battalion has been tasked with “killing Russian generals.”
To a question when Russia plans to end its “special military operation,” Putin said: “How can we stop fighting if the opposing side is carrying out a counteroffensive? What should we do? They will counterattack and we will say — okay, we are wrapping up.”
Regarding peace negotiations, Putin said if the US authorities believe that Ukraine is ready to hold them, they should influence the Kyiv government to rescind the presidential decree prohibiting negotiations.
Armenia itself determined status of Karabakh region
Amid tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Putin said the Armenian leadership “de facto” recognized that the Karabakh region belongs to Azerbaijan.
Despite the defeat in the 2020 war, Yerevan wanted to keep control of the Lachin road and the Karabakh region because the area is primarily populated by ethnic Armenians and the Lachin road is the only route connecting it, he said.
The trilateral agreements of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia stipulated that the status of Karabakh be negotiated separately, but later, in the Czech Republic capital of Prague, where Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders were invited by Western countries, they both signed a statement saying that they recognize the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, according to which the then Karabakh region is part of Azerbaijan, he explained.
“And if Armenia recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, then that’s it… the status of Karabakh was determined by Armenia itself,” he emphasized.
Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered peace agreement.
Despite ongoing talks over a long-term peace agreement, tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia rose in recent months over the Lachin road, the only land route giving Armenia access to the Karabakh region, where Azerbaijan established a border checkpoint in April on the grounds of preventing the illegal transport of military arms and equipment to the region.
