В.Путин.Интервью телеканалу ОРТ 07.02.00 Part 2

Interview with the ORT TV Channel Part 2
February 7, 2000
Moscow

Интервью телеканалу ОРТ
7 февраля 2000 года
Москва

Besides, when I was saying more or less clear things to some foreign leaders I saw that they were basically aware of what was happening there, but they were not aware of the full extent of the danger.

Let me explain. I for one am deeply convinced that it is not only or largely about Chechnya itself. What we face in much of the former Soviet Union today is the problem of geopolitical change in the balance of forces, or, if you like, attempts at geopolitical change.

Think about events in Tajikistan. We have the 201st Division there. If we pull out, we will face tragic developments there within a month. We are well aware of that. But are our Western partners aware of it? Well, Tajikistan is only one such area. And there is also Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, much of whose mountainous area was seized by large bands of invaders last year. There are other areas that are very dangerous in terms of the aggressive designs of such extremist forces. These extremist forces are clearly out to win that turf. In this context, Chechnya is only a small part of the overall fight to re-divide the world.

It is not by chance that the people who took control of Chechen territory are not content with the independence of Chechnya and have gone further. They crossed the borders of Chechnya seeking to annex new territories from Russia to create a state from the Black to the Caspian seas. There was a sense that that part of the former Soviet Union had grown so weak that it was easy prey. But judging from what happened in Kyrgyzstan, for example, they have grounds for thinking so: they penetrated Kyrgyzstan unchallenged, they seized large areas and took hostages, including foreigners, the Japanese, as you remember.

And there is another danger. We all speak about the possible disintegration of Russia. If these extremist forces manage to gain a foothold in the Caucasus, and not only gain a foothold in Chechnya but several other territories, then this contagion could move up the Volga River and spill into other republics. And then we will either face the balkanisation of Russia or agree to let its territory be divided into several independent states. Has anyone given any thought to the political and geopolitical consequences of such a development in the world? When I talked with my partners, I told many of them directly that we were not only disappointed with the Western stance, but we thought that providing Russia with direct political and economic support in its fight against international extremism was in the national interests of the overwhelming majority of Western countries. Direct support.

MIKHAIL LEONTYEV: Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, said that you had agreed that Russia would defend Belarus if it were attacked. Is that true?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Belarus is our ally and we will defend it. Caring about your allies is not only in their interests. It is in the interests of our own national security and means that all our allies share the responsibility for security. Otherwise these states would not be our allies.

MIKHAIL LEONTYEV: A naive question: who are our allies?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Well, first of all, all the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Thats for starters. We have allies in Europe, a good many of them. All those who share our ideas about a multi-polar world are our potential allies.

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[vasiliys84]

Молодец Путин - то что сказа - сделал!

[SmokiSounds]

@forz44

Россию продал ты, и такие как ты, всегда ищущие виноватых. Путин защищает интересы России жестче, чем кто либо когда либо.

[boss4310g]

оРт-канал для узколобых!!!И рОссия1 и Нтв-отстой!!!

[11117020]

фартовый-лукавый взял бы и сказал правду кто у тебя союзник.их можно здесь же и посмотреть видио-нло над новосибирском во время приезда путина. это не нло -эти чёрные разумные скоты как они тебя любят плешивый.

[vredina1959]

УУУУШЛЫЙ гэбешник!!!!! Незабывайте!!что его привел в кремль человек который развалил страну,и на нас с вами ему похую,у него свои обязательства перед жидами которые его поставили у власти и за это он отдал им Россию на полное раззорение!!!А нам пока остаеться только слушать как в России жить стали хорошо!!!!

[DmitryN79]

Дети! Вы сейчас видели как этот дядя нагло врет, даже не краснея. Это очень плохой и опасный дядя, но притворяется хорошим (как пират Сильвер в мультике "Остров сокровищ"). Никогда так не делайте. Обманывать нехорошо. Этого дядю все равно поймают и накажут, как поймали и наказали пиратов.

[imutes1]

ууууу....раритет....

Леонтьев светило российской журналистики))))

[SmokiSounds]

@CvthnmXehrfv Уже перешли на людей. Начинать надо было с поднятия статуса и репутации на международной арене - иначе прижали бы к чертям, после Ельцина который распродал всё.

[CvthnmXehrfv]

@SmokiSounds защищает интересы России но не русских людей .

[artvilm]

I think mr Putin is currently the most respected leader in the world.

[malezhik1]

Путин был лучший президент! Кандидата лучше я не знаю!

[1488kent]

что путин сказал.что он вобще сделал.не пойму.он ставленик пьянчушки и жидо-воров.я помню как они страну в 1992 году страну разваливали это по их вине война начилась в таджикистане а потом по всему югу ссср.не верю путину ни грамма.как еще он с сионистами обнимался.а они нас за людей не считают...ополченец...