Putin: "Cannot Allow Sovereignty Violation for Economic Gain"... Emphasizes Continuation of War

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that despite the economic damage caused by Western sanctions, he will continue the invasion of Ukraine. He warned that the sanctions would instead cause energy and food problems for the West.

According to Russia's TASS news agency on the 10th (local time), President Putin chaired a government meeting on how to respond to Western sanctions after the Ukraine war and stated, "Russia has no alternative to the special military operation in Ukraine and cannot tolerate its sovereignty being compromised for short-term economic gains," adding, "Western sanctions will lead to increased self-sufficiency and sovereignty for us."

Targeting the United States, he said, "The U.S. is suffering from unprecedented inflation after announcing a halt to Russian oil imports and tries to blame everything on us, but this has nothing to do with us," strongly warning, "If the West continues to cause problems for Russia, there will inevitably be negative consequences in the global food market."

He also emphasized that Russia continues to fulfill energy supply contracts signed prior to the war and sanctions situation. President Putin stressed, "It sounds strange that countries designated as unfriendly criticize Russia," and "We are fulfilling all our obligations." He further explained, "We continue to supply energy to major consumers in Europe and other regions, and the supply volume through the Ukrainian gas pipeline according to contracts is being met 100%."

President Putin's remarks are interpreted as indicating that despite ongoing economic damage from Western sanctions, Russia will not stop its invasion of Ukraine. It is analyzed as a strategy to pressure the West by publicly declaring the enforcement of demands such as the neutralization of Ukraine and the separatist independence of pro-Russian regions in Donbas.

The first ministerial-level talks between Ukraine and Russia held earlier also ended without significant results. According to The New York Times (NYT), on that day in Antalya, southern Turkey, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met for talks, but ceasefire negotiations were reportedly not even mentioned.

At a press conference after the talks, Minister Lavrov said, "No one planned ceasefire negotiations here," and added, "This issue will be discussed soon between Russian and Ukrainian government officials in Belarus."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.