Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Western governments of meddling and trying to bring about “color revolutions” in countries.
Speaking via video link Thursday with intelligence chiefs from the former Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States, Putin said the West was also trying to cause a “bloodbath” in other countries.
The Russian leader also said that the conflicts in the countries of the former USSR, including Ukraine, are the result of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“Just look at what is currently happening between Russia and Ukraine and what is happening at the borders of some other CIS countries. All of this, of course, is the result of the collapse of the Soviet Union,” Putin said.
Armed conflicts have returned to various parts of the former Soviet empire.
Over the past month, the region has seen clashes between the two Central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Putin pointed the finger at the West, saying he was “working on scenarios to fuel new conflicts” in the post-Soviet space.
“We are witnessing the formation of a new world order, which is a difficult process,” Putin said, echoing earlier statements about the West’s waning influence.
Nord Stream denounces “international terrorism”
Separately, Putin told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a call that leaks in Nord Stream pipelines linking Russia to Europe were “international terrorism”.
The Russian president gave his “assessment of the unprecedented sabotage, in fact, of the act of international terrorism, against the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines”, according to the reading of a call from the Kremlin.
Russia launched the military operation in Ukraine in February. Since then, the United States and its European allies have unleashed an unprecedented series of sanctions against Russia and dumped numerous batches of advanced weapons into Ukraine to help its military fend off Russian troops. Moscow says such measures will only prolong the war.
In its latest attempt to fan the flames of war, Washington has assured kyiv of additional military and financial support, the Ukrainian top general said, after discussing the matter with the commander-in-chief of the US military.
The generals spoke by phone on the eve of a ceremony in which President Putin will sign documents for Russia’s annexation of four regions of Ukraine.
“I had a conversation with General Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of United States European Command,” General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, wrote on Telegram.
“We shared our thoughts on the operational situation, future plans and weapon requirements. I shared with General Cavoli the vision of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine regarding mobilization in the Russian Federation. J received encouraging esteem and assurances of further support,” Zaluzhnyi said.
The US Senate on Thursday approved $12 billion in new economic and military aid to Ukraine as part of a tentative federal budget extension through December.
The budget extension was agreed to by senators from both parties as a stopgap measure to avoid an impending government shutdown, and must be approved by the House of Representatives before the end of the week.
The measure includes $3 billion for weapons, supplies and salaries for the Ukrainian military, and authorizes President Joe Biden to order the Pentagon to take $3.7 billion worth of its own weapons and equipment to supply the ‘Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Washington announced it would provide an additional $1.1 billion in aid to Ukraine, with funding for about 18 more advanced rocket systems and other lethal weapons.
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