Russian President Vladimir Putin said ideology played a role in tensions between the West and Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but that geopolitical interests were the key issue.
“It became clear to me that ideology probably has some importance, but at the core of all these contradictions lie geopolitical interests, which is the main, fundamental issue,” Putin told Russian state television.
He added that many over the past 2000 years, including himself, had shared the “illusion” that the root cause of tensions between Moscow and Western countries was the ideological divide associated with communism.
“But when the Soviet Union collapsed and there was no communist regime, a contemptuous attitude towards Russia’s strategic state interests remained. And not just a contemptuous attitude, but one that was aligned with a clear desire to achieve geopolitical advantages,” Putin said.
He stressed that Russia had become clear that it had to assert itself as a sovereign power capable of defending its future in order to earn international respect and be taken seriously by the world.
