Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the West is trying to sow discord among the different ethnic and national groups in Russia and break up the country into dozens of countries.
Putin added in a speech at a meeting of the Council on Interethnic Relations that the provocations (intrigues) that are organized within the national communities in Russia aim to divide the country into dozens of small entities in order to then subject them to the will of the West.
Putin described Russia’s opponents as stupid and guided by neo-colonial ideas.
He continued, “Russia’s opponents are doing everything in their power to sow division and discord among the peoples residing on the territory of Russia, but they do not know that the plurality of nationalities in Russia represents its power that conquers all.”
Putin stressed that the children of all the peoples in Russia are participating in the military operation in Ukraine, and many of them won orders and medals for their heroism and exploits there, as he put it.
The Russian president stressed that the more Western sanctions against his country, the greater the level of interdependence within Russian society, he said.