Putin and Shoigu on NATO, AUKUS, and Ukraine
Orinoco Tribune, August 16, 2023 —
On Tuesday, the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security took place. The event was organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense, with the participation of over 800 delegates from 76 countries, including ministers and deputy ministers of defense and chiefs of staff. Their counterparts from China and Belarus confirmed their attendance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin focused his speech on specific topics such as the defense of sovereignty, some states’ interest in promoting conflicts, and the attempt to take the war to other regions. We summarize part of his speech:
• A multipolar world is being formed based on the defense of sovereignty, national interests, traditions, culture, and way of life. This could become “an important basis” for a “stable and progressive world development” that provides “just and true solutions to social, economic, technological, and environmental problems.”
• Some countries resist these alternatives, so they create and fuel hotbeds of conflict in order to “continue to profit from human tragedies, divide peoples, force nations into vassal submission under a neocolonial system, and mercilessly exploit their resources.”
• Western nations plan to integrate NATO forces into the AUKUS bloc (Australia, UK, and US), aiming to expand their reach into the Asia-Pacific region. He noted that this could lead toward “full integration” of NATO-AUKUS.
• Only the united efforts of the international community will make it possible to “reduce confrontation on a global and regional scale, neutralize challenges and risks, strengthen trust between states, and open up broad opportunities for their development.”
During his speech, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu offered some clues about the war in Ukraine, which we present below:
• There is evidence that Ukraine’s military resources are almost exhausted.
• Ukrainian POWs speak negatively about the combat training provided by NATO instructors.
• He criticized the United States’ double-speak, which points to the use of cluster bombs as a war crime while supplying these weapons to Ukraine.
• The Special Military Operation ended the West’s dominance in the military field.
• Western weapons, supposedly advanced NATO planning methods and troop management methods do not guarantee battlefield superiority.
• Defense policy in Europe is subordinate to US interests.
• Russia is multiplying arms production in record time.
• Soviet-era weapons often surpass Western models in terms of combat capabilities.