Russian President Vladimir Putin assured on Wednesday February 23 that he was ready to take the diplomatic route in order to resolve the current crisis with Ukraine and the West.
“Our country is always open to direct and honest dialogue to find diplomatic solutions to the most complex problems.said the head of state in a televised speech on the occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day. However, the interests and security of our citizens are, for us, non-negotiable. »
Citing as threats to Russia “the loosening of the arms control system” and “NATO military activities”Mr. Putin once again felt that his country’s concerns remained ” without answer “. He demands from the West, in particular, the promise that Ukraine will never join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the end of the reinforcement of the Alliance on Russia’s borders.
Continue to develop the capabilities of the army
The day before, during a short improvised press conference where he had shown himself to be much more bellicose, he had gone so far as to ask that Ukraine give up its ambition to join NATO on its own, but accept also a status of neutrality and be demilitarized – new and unacceptable demands for Kyiv.
On Wednesday morning, Vladimir Putin promised to continue developing the capabilities of the Russian army and fleet, “advanced digital technologies” and artificial intelligence as much as so-called weapons « hypersoniques ». Moscow has developed hypersonic missiles in recent years which it presents as « invincibles » because capable of surpassing any existing anti-missile system. Russia is also regularly accused of large-scale cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns against its adversaries.