Russian leader Vladimir Putin was confronted by a BBC reporter at a press conference that concluded a three-day summit of the BRICs block and laughed at question over spies
Putin responds after being about Russia’s invasion into Ukraine
A grinning Vladimir Putin ridiculed a claim that Russian agents are sewing chaos on the streets of the UK by calling it “utter rubbish”.
Russia has been hosting a three-day summit of the BRICS bloc of developing countries and claimed they were countering the West’s “perverse methods”.
The three-day summit in the city of Kazan, attended by leaders or representatives of 36 countries, did highlight the failure of United States-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
Putin enjoyed being at the centre of an event alongside China’s Xi Jinping and which also saw the attendance of the United Nations’ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres which brought anger from Ukraine. But Guterres used the opportunity to call for “a just peace” in Ukraine and in the Middle East.
And Putin was asked directly by the BBCs Steve Rosenberg about whether the Ukraine war went against the values put forward by the BRICS of justice, regional stability and security, and a fair world.
“How does this all match your actions of the past two and a half years? The invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine – where is the justice, stability and security?” he asked. It was the final question introduced by Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov who was smirking and said the BBC was “a rare guest these days”.
But Putin angrily hit back at the question saying: “Is it fair that for years our (Western) partners for years ignored our constant appeals not to expand NATO to the East? To lie to our face and violate all their obligations… to get into Ukraine and build military bases?”
He also accused the United States of helping to bring about the 2014 Maidan Revolution or “coup” where Ukrainians rose up and protested against their pro-Russian government’s decision to sign an agreement with the EU. And then Putin responded to the claim made by MI5 that Russian intelligence services were “creating chaos” in the UK and grinning widely he said this is “utter rubbish”.
The Kremlin touted the summit as “the largest foreign policy event ever held” by Russia. Speaking at what was dubbed the “BRICS Plus” session, which included countries that are considering joining the bloc, Putin had accused the West of trying to stem the growing power of the Global South.
He claimed they had used “illegal unilateral sanctions, blatant protectionism, manipulation of currency and stock markets, and relentless foreign influence ostensibly promoting democracy, human rights, and the climate change agenda”.
He added: “Such perverse methods and approaches — to put it bluntly — lead to the emergence of new conflicts and the aggravation of old disagreements. One example of this is Ukraine, which is being used to create critical threats to Russia’s security, while ignoring our vital interests, our just concerns, and the infringement of the rights of Russian-speaking people.”
