Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to American President Donald Trump's "paper tiger" remarks about Russia at a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. Putin assessed Trump's statement as incorrect and, in his view, analyzed Russia's real situation. Contrary to Trump's directive, the president asked what public opinion should be if Russia is truly aligned with NATO.
"As I said, Russia has been fighting not with Ukraine, but with almost all NATO members for these years. If we are at war with the NATO bloc and at the same time are moving forward with confidence, then what can be said about NATO?" Putin said, speaking about Russia's influence on the world stage and its political maneuvers.
Putin also concluded that this description of the "paper tiger" was made "ironically" and, drawing from this, emphasized that such statements should encourage Russia to withdraw from its military power. "Here he said to his interlocutor: 'This is a paper tiger.' What will happen next? Then go and get rid of the paper tiger. But you see, everything is happening differently," Putin said.
This statement by the Russian president was the first public response to Donald Trump's comments on the Truth Social social network on September 23rd. Trump stated against Ukraine that Russia is unable to seize its territories, as Russia has become a "paper tiger." Despite the fact that Trump's words have so far been drawn from international relations, Putin considered them correct and inconsistent with the real situation in the world.
Putin's words also led to problems with Russia's economic system and sanctions. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, in turn, stated: "Russia is not a 'paper tiger,' but a truly strong bear-class state." According to Peskov, although the tensions in the Russian economy are indeed isolated, they were created due to sanctions and global instability.
This article not only shows new parallels in international politics but also allows us to look at Russia's current foreign policy course.
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