Published Wed 21 April 2021 06:43 EDT
Updated Wed 21 April 2021 07:57 EDT
- Moscow will respond “hard”, “quickly” and “asymmetrically” to foreign provocations, Putin told an audience of Russian top officials and lawmakers.
- He added that he “hopes” that no foreign actor would cross Russia’s “red lines”, according to a Reuters translation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the expanded boards of the Interior Ministry on February 26, 2020 in Moscow, Russia.
Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned in his annual state of the nation address on Wednesday to provoke his country, promising a swift retaliation against anyone who ‘crosses red lines’.
Moscow will respond ‘hard’, ‘fast’ and ‘asymmetrically’ to foreign provocations, Putin told an audience of Russian top officials and lawmakers, adding that he ‘hopes’ no foreign actor would cross Russia’s ‘red lines’ not, according to a Reuters. translation.
Putin also pointed to the country’s planned investment in extensive military education, hypersonic weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. But he also stressed that Russia wants peace and arms control agreements.
The 68-year-old leader condemned what he described as the continuing tendency of international actors to blame Russia for wrongdoing, saying it had become like a sport.
The remarks come in the last half hour of the 90-minute speech, which focused mainly on Russia’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic and local economic and social issues.
The speech comes against the backdrop of deteriorating tensions with the US and the EU, and follows the recent imposition of sanctions against Russia by the Biden government over alleged cyber attacks, human rights violations and a Russian military build-up along the border with Ukraine.