Muristek
NEW DELHI, JUNE 10
Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was impossible to "fence off" a country like Russia and that Moscow would focus on building partnerships with India, China as well as countries from Latin America and Africa.
Residents queue up for humanitarian aid in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. REUTERSSovereign entity
A country can be either a sovereign or a colony, there is nothing in between. — Vladimir Putin, Russian President
"You have just mentioned China and India. Why only China and India? It is also Latin America. Perhaps, Africa today is still sleeping, but it is waking up, 1.5 billion people live there. What about Southeast Asia," said Putin in a meeting with young entrepreneurs on Thursday, reported the Russian media.
In an apparent attempt to quell speculation that he has a life-threatening disease with some London papers even declaring him dead, the Russian President also visited a multimedia exhibition in Moscow dedicated to the 350th anniversary of the birth of the first Russian Emperor Peter I.
In a reference to the economic sanctions imposed by Western countries, Putin asserted that "it is impossible to fence off a country like Russia from the outside". He said Russia's mission was to get back and strengthen.
"A country can be either a sovereign or a colony, there is nothing in between. If a country or a group of countries cannot make sovereign decisions, then these are colonies, and the colonies have no prospects," Putin said, adding that When Peter the Great founded Russia's new capital (present day St Petersburg), no European country recognised Russia's right to that region. "Everyone viewed it as part of Sweden but Slavic people lived there from time immemorial, along with the Finno-Ugric people, and the region was controlled by the Russian state. The same went for the western direction," Putin said.