Putin called the goal of Russia the unification of the Russian people

Geopolitical opponents of Moscow adhere to a policy aimed at “pulling apart” our country, and Russia’s goal is to unite the Russian people, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on the air of the Rossiya-1 TV channel to the program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin.”

Russia has always sought to resolve emerging disputes through peaceful negotiations, one “other side was set up differently,” the president said, answering a question about the conflict in Ukraine and Russia’s confrontation with NATO.

“We started, as I have said many times, to carry out tough military actions. One way or another, we were forced to stand up for the people who live in these territories. we had to support the choice of the Crimeans. It all started with this,” Putin said.

The head of state recalled the coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014, emphasizing that it was not Russia that started it. In his opinion, “the basis of everything” is the policy of geopolitical opponents, which is aimed at “pulling apart historical Russia.”

“Divide and Conquer is what they have always tried to do, they are trying to do it now. Our goal is something else – to unite the Russian people, ”Putin said.

Answering the question about what needs to be done to retreat from the “dangerous line”, the president said that he does not consider it to be such, and Russia, in his opinion, is acting in the right direction: we are protecting our national interests and the interests of our citizens.

“And we simply have no other choice but to protect our citizens. But we are ready to negotiate with all the participants in this process about acceptable outcomes. But this is their business, we are not refusing to negotiate,” the head of state said.