Published on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 6:43 AM EDT
Updated Wednesday, April 21, 2021 7:57 AM EDT
- Moscow will respond “harshly”, “quickly” and “asymmetrically” to foreign challenges, Putin told Russia’s senior officials and parliamentarians.
- He added that he “hopes” that no foreign actor will cross Russia’s “red lines”, according to a Reuters translation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending the extended interior ministry meetings on February 26, 2020 in Moscow, Russia.
Mihail Svetlov | Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his annual State of the Nation address, warned on Wednesday against his country’s challenge, promising swift repression against anyone who crossed the “red lines.”
Moscow will respond “harshly”, “quickly” and “asymmetrically” to foreign challenges, Putin told Russia’s senior officials and parliamentarians, adding that he “hopes” that no foreign actor will cross Russia’s “red lines”, according to Reuters. translation.
Putin also supported the country’s planned investments in expanded military education, hypersonic weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. He stressed, however, that Russia wants peace agreements and arms control.
The 68-year-old leader condemned what he described as the constant tendency of international actors to blame Russia for wrongdoing, saying it had become like a sport.
The comments came in the last half hour of the 90-minute speech, which focused mainly on Russia’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic and domestic economic and social problems.
The speech came amid escalating tensions with the US and the EU and follows the recent imposition of sanctions on Russia by the Biden administration for alleged cyber attacks, human rights violations and a Russian military build-up along the border with Ukraine.