Western nations ‘changing tune’ on defeating Russia – Putin

The stronger the nation is, the less its enemies will be trying to hurt it, the Russian president said

Western nations, who previously insisted that Ukraine should defeat Russia on the battlefield, are gradually changing their position, President Vladimir Putin noted on Friday.

“They are changing their tune now, saying different things,” the Russian leader told members of the Civic Chamber, a civil society body tasked with consulting the government on policy making.

Putin was arguing that the nation should become stronger in all aspects, such as the economy, military, and political stability. Such strength deters hostile actors from trying to to isolate Russia, he said.

“They (EU nations) excluded our energy. So what? What is the result? Our GDP will grow [up to] 3% this year, and the leading European economies are shrinking,” he noted.

“They suffer, they have real problems,” Putin added, noting that he was saying this with joy. “This doesn’t mean that we should behave aggressively. It means we must be sovereign in every sense of the word,” he concluded.

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