FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Putin References ‘Certain Forces in America’ Trying To Destroy Helsinki Achievements
July 19, 2018 (EIRNS)—In the course of a wide-ranging address to Russian ambassadors brought to Moscow for an annual meeting, President Vladimir Putin remarked on the Helsinki summit and those “Americans” who are deriding it.
“We need a new, positive agenda aimed at collaboration and attempts to find common ground. Of course, I discussed this during my meeting with the President of the United States, Mr. Trump.
“With our views being different on many matters, we agreed that Russia-U.S. relations are deeply unsatisfactory and in many ways even worse than during the Cold War.
“Of course, it would be naive to believe that the problems that piled up over years would be resolved in a matter of several hours. No one was counting on this. However, I believe that we have embarked on a path to positive changes.
“Importantly, a full-fledged summit with an opportunity to talk directly has finally taken place. It was overall successful and led to productive agreements.
“We will have to wait and see, of course, what turn the events will take, all the more so as certain forces in America are trying to downplay and disavow the results of the Helsinki summit.
“To digress from the main subject, I would like to say a few words on a personal note, so to speak.
“We see that there are forces in the United States that are willing to sacrifice Russia-U.S. relations to promote their ambitions amid the domestic political strife in America. They are ready to sacrifice the interests of their businesses, which are losing multimillion-dollar contracts and the Russian market in general, as well as jobs in the United States, even though not many, but still there are jobs in place as part of cooperation with Russia. We are talking about tens of thousands, potentially hundreds of thousands, of jobs.
“They are ready to sacrifice the interests of their allies in Europe and the Middle East, in particular, those of the State of Israel. Among other things, we discussed security at the Golan Heights during the operation in Syria. Apparently, no one is interested in it. They are ready to sacrifice even their own security.
“I would like to say that the New START Treaty will expire in 2021. Generally speaking, we could have lived without it even several years ago, but we took the correct step when we signed it. Unless we start working right now to coordinate its extension, it will cease to exist in a year and a half. We will simply not have this treaty.
“When I spoke about these forces, you know, this does not fit our political philosophy, because we have always been taught that officials working in the interests of the state, of society must think above all about and give priority to these fundamental interests. Unfortunately, there are forces in the United States that put their narrow group and party interests before national ones.
“Our famous satirical writers once wrote about such people, ‘Miserable, wretched people!’ But this is not quite so, at least not when it comes to this case. These are not miserable or wretched people. No, they are powerful and strong people who can shove—sorry for the mauvais ton—unbelievable and illogical stories in the face of millions of their citizens. Yes, they can really do this.
“I am not saying this to scold or commend anyone. Absolutely not. I am saying this so that we take this into account in our practical work in the American direction. These are the facts of modern life.
“Nevertheless, Russia is open to further contacts with the United States on an equal and mutually beneficial basis. This is what not only our people but the world as a whole need. As the world’s largest nuclear powers, we have special responsibility for strategic stability and security.”
It would be wrong, however, to read Putin’s message without recalling that like most foreigners—and many Americans—he hears much more from the fake-news media than from the actual views of Americans.
