During a ceremony at the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally received the credentials of 28 newly appointed ambassadors, including those from NATO and EU countries.
Adressed Ambassadors
The event, intended to mark the official start of these diplomats’ mandates in Moscow, quickly turned into an opportunity for Putin to criticize Western countries. He accused them of escalating tensions and isolating Russia internationally, according to Ziare.
Addressing ambassadors from countries including Japan, Canada, Italy, Spain, and Finland, Putin spoke pointedly about the strained relations between Russia and many Western nations.
"It’s no secret that our bilateral relations have been minimized, officially and commercially, and that interactions on international and regional issues have frozen,” Putin remarked, highlighting the significant diplomatic and economic gaps created amid ongoing international conflicts and sanctions.
Russia Does Not Seek Confrontation
Despite his pointed comments, Putin framed Russia as a nation that seeks “mutually beneficial cooperation” and blamed Western leaders for the current disconnect. He claimed that Russia “does not seek confrontation” and expressed a hope that “rational and balanced cooperation with Russia will eventually prevail.”
Putin also addressed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, reiterating his long-standing claim that Western nations prevented an early peace between Russia and Ukraine.
He argued that at the start of the war, Russia had been open to negotiations and had even reached a preliminary agreement, which he claimed Ukraine ultimately rejected under foreign influence.
"Some countries wanted Ukraine to become a fatal weapon against Russia,” Putin said, portraying the West as intentionally hostile to Russian interests.
In a message directed at Western leaders, Putin warned that attempts to deliver a “strategic defeat” to Russia were “deeply misguided” and dismissed such actions as naive, rooted in a lack of understanding of Russia’s history.
