(Original title: Kremlin: The goal of “demilitarization” of Ukraine has been basically achieved, and its own weapons are getting fewer and fewer)
[Global Network Report]According to a report by the TASS news agency on the 18th, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said in an interview with “Russia Today” that the goal of “demilitarization” of Ukraine has actually been basically achieved, because the weapons used by Kiev belong to itself. part is getting less and less.
Peskov
TASS reported that Peskov said, “Actually, at the beginning of (the special military operation), Ukraine was militarized to a high degree. And, as Putin said yesterday, one of the goals of the operation was to demilitarize Ukraine. Facts In fact, this goal has been basically achieved. Ukraine is using less and less of its own weapons, while more and more are provided by Western countries.”
According to the report, when commenting on the supply of weapons by Western countries to Ukraine, Peskov said that Russia’s special military operation, which began as a defense of the Donbass region, has actually turned into a war with the Western bloc. He mentioned that Putin had stated that if Ukraine continued to bombard Russian territory, it would consider establishing a “safe zone” in Ukraine. Peskov added that as the range of weapons delivered to Ukraine increases, so will this buffer zone, the “distance over which we will have to remove Ukrainians from our territory.”
Russia’s “Viewpoint” reported on the 14th that Putin said on the 13th that if Ukraine continues to bombard Russia, it will consider establishing a “safe zone” in Ukraine. In a meeting with war correspondents, he said: “It is still possible to shell (targets) in our country from the territory of Ukraine. There are several solutions to this. The first is to improve the ability of counter-battery operations, but this does not mean that our land will not Shelled. If the shelling continues, then we will have to consider this issue: to establish a ‘safe zone’ in Uzbekistan. Of course, I am not saying that this work will start tomorrow, it depends on the development of the situation. “
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Putin: Ukrainian military equipment will soon deplete their counterattack “no chance”
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum known as the “Russian version of Davos” on the 16th. He comprehensively summarized Russia’s achievements in overcoming external sanctions and promoting economic transformation and recovery since last year, and painted a positive outlook for the Russian economy. He said that the second quarter of 2022 is the most difficult period for the Russian economy, but the strategies adopted by the state and enterprises have worked, and Russia’s macroeconomic development is showing a positive trend with full momentum. Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) may grow by 1.5% to 2% this year, which will keep Russia among the world‘s leading economies. This is completely different from the bleak prospects of the Russian economy depicted by the Western media.
Reuters said on the 16th that Putin “hailed” the performance of the Russian economy, saying that Western sanctions had failed to isolate Russia.
“Russia is not on the path to self-isolation”
putin speech
According to TASS news agency, Putin said in his speech that in April this year, Russia’s GDP grew by 3.3% year-on-year. Although the International Monetary Fund predicts that the Russian economy will grow by 0.7% this year, “but in my opinion, I agree with our experts, who believe that the Russian economy will grow by 1.5% this year, and may even be slightly lower than 2%.” In particular, he mentioned that the revenue growth of Russia’s non-oil and gas sector has been eye-catching. From January to May this year, it increased by 9.1% year-on-year, which was significantly higher than expected, of which the increase in May was 28.5%. The economy, processing industry, and service trade industry continue to develop and make new breakthroughs.”
Putin said Russia has maintained a balanced fiscal policy, with unemployment and inflation near record lows, and this stability has become Russia’s competitive advantage. Inflation in Russia is currently at 2.9 percent, near record lows and lower than many Western countries, he said.
Regarding the comprehensive increase of sanctions against Russia by the West since 2022 and the withdrawal of a large number of Western companies from the Russian market, Putin said that those predictions that Russia will return to a closed economic system due to sanctions have come to nothing. Economic openness is still one of the important principles of the Russian economy. Instead of going down the path of self-isolation, Russia has further strengthened its relations with reliable partners. In 2022, Russia’s commodity exports will reach 592 billion US dollars, a record high in the past ten years.
Reuters quoted Putin’s speech on the 16th as saying: “If foreign manufacturers want to return to the Russian market again – we hear more and more such talks – we will not close the door to anyone. Create the necessary conditions for Russian operations.” Putin said that the Russian government has never driven anyone out of the Russian market. “Instead, we advise them to weigh all the pros and cons, carefully consider the Russian partner and the possible consequences.” “If at first our entrepreneurs were very worried about Western companies leaving, now they are occupying vacant production facilities and shopping mall sites” .
Russia’s “Viewpoint” said on the 16th that Putin’s speech at the plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this year lasted about 1 hour and 20 minutes, surpassing last year and setting a new record.
putin speech
According to the Russian satellite network, American political scientist Dmitry Sims served as the moderator of the plenary session of the forum. After Putin’s speech, he raised the question about Ukraine’s counterattack. Putin said that the Ukrainian army’s equipment will soon be exhausted and it will not be able to fight for a long time. The Ukrainian army’s counterattack has “no chance of winning.”
The countries that initiated the sanctions are facing serious consequences of their own making
President Mohammed of the United Arab Emirates and President Tebrun of Algeria became the distinguished guests of this forum. The Russian satellite network said on the 16th that 17,000 guests from 130 countries participated in the forum. This clearly shows that the so-called problem of “Russia being economically isolated” does not exist, and the opposite is true. Russian President’s Press Secretary Peskov said on the 16th: “(Russia) is certainly not isolated. There cannot be a vacuum period in economic affairs. If certain directions are blocked, then other directions will automatically open and gain more and more Interests.”
The “Russia Today” TV station website stated on the 16th that Russian Finance Minister Siluanov said that 2022 is the first year of difficult economic transformation in Russia, but Russia has passed this period with dignity. In the context of Western sanctions, Russian companies have turned their trade to “friendly countries” and started to independently produce some of the goods previously imported from abroad. The Russian economy is back on track, with investments and real incomes of the people showing growth. At the same time, the countries that initiated the sanctions are facing serious self-inflicted consequences, such as soaring inflation, reduced competitiveness and lower confidence in the dollar and euro in international markets.
Conference takes ‘unprecedented security measures’
Although St. Petersburg is far from the Russian-Ukrainian border, the repercussions of the war are still felt everywhere. According to RIA Novosti, Peskov said on the 16th that during the activities of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russia took “unprecedented security measures” “because the enemy is acting recklessly.” The British “Guardian” stated that due to Western sanctions on the Russian banking industry, foreign credit cards cannot be used in Russia, so this forum urged foreigners to bring US dollars and euros in cash.
The United States and Europe continue to sing bad news about the Russian economy. According to Agence France-Presse, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Adeyemo said on the 15th that after the West imposed price limits on Russian oil for half a year, Russian oil revenue fell by nearly 50% in the first five months of this year. Compared to a year ago, although Russia is now exporting more crude oil than when the war started, it is making less money because its oil is now trading 25 percent cheaper relative to the global market, he said.
According to recent statistics released by the State Statistics Office of the Russian Federation, Russia’s GDP will drop by 2.1% in 2022. Russia’s “Izvestia” said on the 16th that Sberbank Governor Gref said that the Russian economy has gone through a difficult period, but its performance has exceeded everyone’s expectations. In 2022, Russia’s GDP will only decrease by 2.1%, and perhaps the most daring analysts have not dared to make such predictions before. He said that the external attack was mainly aimed at Russia’s financial sector, and the Russian central bank responded to this challenge in a timely manner.
According to a report by the TASS news agency on the 16th, Russian Energy Minister Shurjinov said in an interview with Izvestia during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that Russia has made every effort and succeeded in diversifying the export of oil and oil products. “Except for Europe and the United States, very few countries reject Russia’s high-quality oil products, so we divert all these products to African and Asia-Pacific countries. Some countries have significantly increased their purchases of Russian oil and oil products.”
Source of this article: Global Network Responsible Editor: Zhang Zhongquan_NB17813