Vladimir Putin interview on relationship with West

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the German daily newspaper BILD that he believes Russia’s deteriorating relationship with the West was the result of many “mistakes” made by NATO, the US and Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

 

“We have done everything wrong,” Putin told BILD publisher Kai Diekmann and BILD politics editor Nikolaus Blome last week, according to a transcript provided to Business Insider.

 

“From the beginning, we failed to overcome Europe’s division. Twenty-five years ago, the Berlin Wall fell, but invisible walls were moved to the East of Europe. This has led to mutual misunderstandings and assignments of guilt. They are the cause of all crises ever since,” he said.

 

The US, the former Soviet Union and the post-soviet states who wanted to join NATO should have “redefine[d] a zone in Central Europe that would not be accessible to NATO with its military structures,” Putin said.

 

Read More: Vladimir Putin interview on relationship with West – Business Insider