Russian ex-president and vice-chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, on Monday called the West’s claims about the Russian and Chinese threat to Greenland as fabricated “horror stories”. According to him, Western leaders use them to justify their own actions, reports TASR based on Reuters and TASS reports.
- Dmitry Medvedev rejects the claims about the Russian and Chinese threat to Greenland.
- According to Medvedev, the West uses these accusations to justify its own actions.
- Medvedev claims that Russia does not want a global conflict, but it cannot be ruled out.
- Medvedev’s statements, according to diplomats, reflect the hard wing of the Russian elite.
- Medvedev criticizes the West for downplaying Russian warnings and mentions the war in Ukraine.
“Our president (Vladimir Putin) recently said that this issue does not concern us at all. Let the United States solve it with Europe … It is a rather big challenge for Atlantic unity.” said Medvedev in an interview he gave at his residence near Moscow. According to him, neither China nor Russia pose any threat to the autonomous territory of Denmark.
US President Donald Trump wants to gain control of Greenland because of alleged security threats from Russia and China in the Arctic. Medvedev pointed out that the world is becoming more and more dangerous, but Russia does not want a global conflict. “We are not interested in global conflict. We are not crazy,” he declared. At the same time, he admitted that he cannot be ruled out. In the years 2008 to 2012 he was the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin was the prime minister of the Russian government at the time.
According to Reuters, the final word on Russian policy remains in the hands of President Putin. However, according to foreign diplomats, Medvedev’s statements reflect the thinking of the hard wing of the Russian political elite. In recent years, Medvedev has repeatedly spoken harshly to both Kiev and Western countries and warns of the risk of the conflict escalating into a nuclear “apocalypse”.
In the interview, he said that, in his opinion, the West is making light of Russian warnings. “They say, ‘This is nonsense, the Russians are making it up, spreading horror stories and never doing anything,'” he said, adding that the war in Ukraine proves that Russia is ready to defend and advance its interests.
