Thread by @anders_aslund

Today, Putin reached new oral aggression in his 4-hour press conference. Key points:
1. No World War III would have started if Russia had sunk the British destroyer.
2. Going further than previously in denying the the Ukrainian (& Belarusian) nations.
en.kremlin.ru/events/preside…

Putin on Ukraine:
"Ukrainians and Russians are a single people"

Putin: "Since the Middle Ages, efforts have always been made to divide and break up the Russian people. Rzeczpospolita launched this policy because Poland itself wanted to become a great power. Consequently, it tried to split up all nearby ethnic groups around itself."

Then Austria tried to split the Russians: "Austro-Hungary continued this policy in the run-up to World War I."
"There were the Great Russians, the White Russians [=Belarusians] and the Little Russians [=Ukrainians]."

Putin: "So, I do not regard the Ukraine people unfriendly. Nothing of the kind. Russians and Ukrainians are a single people. But the Ukrainian leadership, the current authorities of modern Ukraine are clearly unfriendly to us. This is perfectly obvious."

"there are narrow-minded people and far-right nationalists everywhere; they exist in Russia and also in Ukraine. They are acting in all sincerity, but not wisely. The results of their activities will be destructive. This also concerns the suppression of the opposition in Ukraine"

Then Putin comes what he really cares about, the treatment of his friends: "Viktor Medvedchuk, whom I regard as a Ukrainian nationalist, was seized and confined to his apartment ahead of the election campaign, and they also ordered him to wear an electronic bracelet."

Putin, who could not care less about the Russian constitution, gets upset when alleging that others violate their constitutions: "Absolutely illegal and unconstitutional decisions have been taken. But nobody is paying any attention to this."

Putin: "Why meet with Zelensky if he has accepted the full external management of his country? The main issues concerning Ukraine’s functioning are not decided in Kiev but in Washington and, partly, in Berlin and Paris. What is there to talk about then?"