How Moscow will implement the partnership agreement between Russia and North Korea is its business. This is how Russian President Vladimir Putin answered a question about whether the information that Pyongyang has sent thousands of soldiers to Russia for its war against Ukraine is true, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Putin did not deny that there were already North Korean soldiers in Russia, but said that it was not his country's actions that led to the escalation of the conflict, alluding to Western arms supplies to Kiev.
„Moscow has never doubted that Pyongyang is serious about the implementation of the strategic partnership treaty in its part on joint defense,”, the Russian president said after the end of the BRICS summit held in the Russian city of Kazan .
Putin thanked his partners for their help in solving the conflict in Ukraine and pointed out that it is pointless to threaten Russia.
„You can threaten anyone. It's pointless to threaten Russia because it only amuses us," the Russian leader said, commenting on US presidential candidate Donald Trump's alleged threats to “strike Moscow”. However, the Russian leader welcomed Donald Trump's statements that he wants to end the conflict in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Speaking of Ukraine, Putin warned that peace with Kiev must be based on the realities of the battlefield, reported AFP. "We are ready to consider any peace talks based on the realities on the ground. We are not ready to do anything else," Putin said.
Putin specified that relations between Russia and the United States after the elections will depend on the future administration in the White House, world agencies reported. "How Russian-American relations will develop after the elections depends primarily on the United States," he stressed. "If they are open to normalizing relations with Russia, we are also open”, he added.
The Russian leader also said at the press conference that Russia is ready to help settle the conflict in the Middle East and sees its role in creating conditions for finding a solution there, Reuters reported. Putin added that Moscow does not want the conflict to worsen and that he believes that no country in the region wants a major war, Reuters reported.
Putin also said that the statement by the head of the British security service MI-5 that Russia aims to sow chaos in Britain and Europe is “complete nonsense”. The Russian leader said that the situation “on the streets of European cities” is caused by the actions of the European authorities.
On Tuesday, MI5 chief Ken McCallum said Russian military intelligence was “on a permanent mission to cause chaos on British and European streets”, adding: “We are witnessing arson, sabotage and more” , Reuters recalls.
The Russian president closed the BRICS summit today. He described the meeting as a success and said that several of the visiting countries have requested full membership in the group.
„We have proven that BRICS is not a closed format in itself, it is open to all who share BRICS values. And its members are ready to work to find joint solutions without being dictated to from outside or trying to impose approaches on anyone. "BRICS cannot fail to respond to the growing demand in the world for just such cooperation," Putin said.
BRICS does not aim to create a separate payment system, Putin also pointed out, adding that for the BRICS countries, the problems with bank payments are one of the main problems for cooperation within the bloc, but they will use the existing systems to solve them surround.