The top European nations are currently taking a much more aggressive stance towards Russia than the United States, President Vladimir Putin said during the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club.
“Now, of course, the main leading European countries are taking a much more aggressive stance towards Russia than the United States,” the president said.
Putin added that if the United States “is striving to end the conflict, then, apparently, many European countries, as I have already said today, based on the unfavorable economic development in their countries, and consequently on the position of the ruling political class at this time, and based on the changes in public sentiment within their countries, are now perhaps the ones leading the aggressive behavior towards Russia and creating additional crises between Russia and Europe.”
According to him, Europeans are doing this “precisely to justify the need to prepare for war and to mobilize as many supporters as possible around themselves to stay in power. The logic is very simple – I am sure that this is a significant part of the rationale behind the behavior of European countries towards the Russian Federation,” the president explained.
Commenting on the possible influence of the EU on US policy, Putin expressed confidence that it is “excessive” to assume that “someone from the outside determines US policy in certain areas.”
