During a joint news conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin maintained that he believed “common sense” would prevail in the West over sanctions. As he lashed out at Western nations for criticising Russia in the aftermath of his invasion of Ukraine, Putin revealed a slew of new agreements aimed at bolstering Russia’s ties with Minsk. Belarus was crucial to his “special military operation,” since Lukashenko authorised the use of his territory to start the attack on northern Ukraine.
Because of the new arrangement reached with trustworthy partner Lukashenko, Putin stated that “we will never need the West again.”
“In this moment, when Western nations have begun a comprehensive sanction campaign against Russia and Belarus, it is critical that we strengthen our integration with the union states,” Russian President Vladimir Putin stated.
“We will oppose any attempt to stymie our progress or artificially isolate us from the global economy.”
“I believe this is pointless — Russia and Belarus are inextricably tied by economic contacts, traditional links and threads, including our industrial collaboration.”
“This endeavour will fail; we will only get stronger because we will continue to build our own abilities and will not isolate ourselves.”
The Russian President also drew a parallel between Gagarin’s first space journey 61 years ago and Russia’s current defiance.
“The sanctions were absolute, the isolation was complete, yet the Soviet Union was still first in space,” he explained.
“We don’t want to be alone.” It is difficult to severely isolate anyone in the current world, let alone a country the size of Russia.”
Russian authorities have regularly used the Soviet Union’s triumph in space as a cautionary tale about Moscow’s potential to accomplish remarkable outcomes in the face of adversity.
However, Russia’s economy is significantly smaller than that of the Soviet Union, which was once a powerhouse capable of economically and technologically threatening the United States.
Russia’s nominal economic production in 2021 was barely $1.6 trillion, accounting for only around 7% of the $22.9 trillion US economy.
Putin also stated that Russia’s financial system was functioning well and that the West’s economic “blitzkrieg” had failed, but that the possibility of harm from sanctions may increase in the medium and long term, according to Russian news agencies.
