New Delhi (NVI): Russian Embassy in India today issued a statement, seeking to put in proper “perspective” the comments made by President Vladimir Putin in response to US President Joe Biden’s “killer” remark.
The Embassy said Putin’s remarks were not presented properly by the Indian media and it only copied what was issued by the Western media.
“To choose a title for an article is always a tricky thing – you risk to miss-match the core of a narrative. This task is especially difficult when a text has already been written by your Western media partners, and you have nothing left to do but to copy/paste it, no matter what the essence of the material is. Today, we all witnessed once again how it works – news prepared by Reuters about the Russian President’s reaction to the US leader’s unpleasant remarks in his address during the interview to ABC were simply cloned by the Indian media without paying much attention to the real meaning of Mr Vladimir Putin’s words. Some of them even came out with such titles like “Takes one (killer) to know one: Putin”, which provides wrong and misleading perception.
“To be precise, on March 18, 2021 he literally stated the following: “With regard to my US colleague’s remark, we have, indeed, as he said, met in person. What would I tell him? I would say “stay healthy.” I wish him good health. I am saying this without irony or tongue in cheek. This is my first point. Secondly, taking a broader approach to this matter, I would like to say that difficult, dramatic, and bloody events abound in the history of every nation and every state. But when we evaluate other people, or even other states and nations, we are always facing a mirror, we always see ourselves in the reflection, because we project our inner selves onto the other person.
“You know, I remember when we were children and played in the yard, we had arguments occasionally and we used to say: whatever you call me is what you are (called) yourself. This is no coincidence or just a kids’ saying or joke. It has a very deep psychological undercurrent. We always see ourselves in another person and think that he or she is just like us, and evaluate the other person’s actions based on our own outlook on life.
“With regard to the US establishment, the ruling class – not the American people who are mostly honest, decent and sincere people who want to live in peace and friendship with us, something we are aware of and appreciate, and we will rely on them in the future – their mindset was formed in rather challenging circumstances which we are all aware of. After all, the colonisation of the American continent by the Europeans went hand-in-hand with the extermination of the local people, the genocide, as they say today, outright genocide of the Indian tribes followed by a very tough, long and difficult period of slavery, a very cruel period. All of that has been part of life in America throughout the history of the United States to this day. Otherwise, where would the Black Lives Matter movement come from? To this day, African Americans face injustice and even extermination.
“The ruling class of the United States tends to address domestic and foreign policy issues based on these assumptions. After all, the United States is the only country to have used nuclear weapons, mind you, against a non-nuclear state – Japan, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WW II. There was absolutely no military need for the bombing. It was nothing but the extermination of civilians. I am bringing this up, because I know that the United States and its leaders are determined to maintain certain relations with us, but on matters that are of interest to the United States and on its terms. Even though they believe we are just like them, we are different. We have a different genetic, cultural and moral code. But we know how to uphold our interests. We will work with the United States, but in the areas that we are interested in and on terms that we believe are beneficial to us. They will have to reckon with it despite their attempts to stop our development, despite the sanctions and insults. They will have to reckon with this. We, with our national interests in mind, will promote our relations with all countries, including the United States. This is generally all I want to say about this.”
“Later on that day Mr Vladimir Putin made additional statement to the Russian media: “I have already said that our assessments differ, and I also said why. Because when we observe someone – or we think we observe someone – we have the impression that we are looking at the object of our observation through a magnifying glass, or at least through a transparent glass. In fact, we usually look into a mirror. In order for us not to engage in this bickering in absentia, we must continue our relationships.
“Moreover, here’s something what I have just thought of. The previous time it was President Biden who initiated the phone call. I would like to invite President Biden to continue our discussion, but on condition that we will do this virtually, as they say, live-broadcast, online – without any delays, but right in an open, direct way. I think that this would be interesting for the Russian people, for the U.S. people, as well as for many other countries. I mean since we, as the largest nuclear powers, have a particular responsibility for strategic security on the planet. We could discuss bilateral relations, strategic stability, ways to settle regional conflicts – I will not list them, there are many. We could also discuss other problems facing the humanity today.
“The pandemic is among those problems. As you know, the situation in the United States remains difficult, the country is still far from settling these issues. Our progress is more encouraging. We have things to discuss and to share. But again, on condition that it will be an open and frank dialogue in a live broadcast.
“I wouldn’t put it off for a long time. As for this weekend, I want to go to the taiga to take a break. But we could do it either tomorrow or, let’s say, on Monday. Any time, we are ready whenever it is convenient for the U.S. Side. Right after our conversation, I will give the Foreign Ministry appropriate instructions.”
“We hope the material mentioned above had cleared the picture. In conclusion, we would like to note only one thing – there is no need for any media to hunt sensations in attempt to duplicate one’s noisy ungrounded accusations. There is always a place for properly prepared and unbiased information, which would be gratefully perceived by their audience. Doing otherwise can be taken as either unprofessional approach or even – a direct insult lunge.”
