NEW DELHI: An excerpt from ‘The Gist‘ episode with Anton Anisimov, the Editor-in-Chief of Sputnik International in conversation with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi.
Watch the complete conversation here: from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bqAneg5-E4&t=56s
Transcript:
AA: Most countries that are willing or not willing to be in NATO are not that Russophobic as the current Ukrainian regime is. They do not have Nazi battalions. They do not have Nazi type military on their territory. It is a legitimate right for every nation to become part of either block. But, at the same time, we’re talking about Ukraine ,where certainly a large part of the population will be against NATO. The eastern part of Ukraine, which has historically been very, very tightly connected to Russia would definitely be against it. This is what is happening in the eastern part, the part that is not in line with what the official Kiev regime is saying right now. Their opinions are not even heard. Their opinions are bombed along with people that are voicing them.It is Ukraine that is the big deal, biggest concern, if Ukraine joins NATO.
APR: If Finland or Sweden joins NATO?
AA: It’s not true to the same extent, as it will be with Ukraine.
APR: What’s the mood among the people, people you speak to? Since you are an Editor-in-Chief, you would have access to a larger viewpoint, in terms of the stakes that have been raised so much. There’s talk of World War III. President Putin raised the nuclear alert. NATO says not a square inch of our territory. If anything happens to any of our countries, Article Five will be invoked. President Putin says if anybody tries to stop me, there’ll be consequences that you’ve never seen in history. If something goes wrong, say a Russian missile enters into NATO territory, President Zelensky has asked for a no-fly-zone at the U.S. Congress. What’s the worry within Russia in terms of the magnitude of where the world is at right now?
AA: Everybody’s worried, of course. Everybody, not only in Russia, but in Europe as well. Everybody’s worried about what might happen. I think even in the United States to some extent people need to be worried about what might happen. Speaking about Russian rockets, I don’t think there is a high risk of Russia’s high precision strikes and high precision ammunition landing somewhere in a European state or in a state of the NATO bloc. At least, in the last three weeks, nothing of that sort has happened even closely, because we’re speaking about high precision weapons. But, the most dangerous part is President Zelensky, speaking to the U.S. Congress, and asking the United States to establish a no- fly-zone. It’s been admitted by both Russia and the United States that this could lead to a direct hit between Russia and NATO and nobody wants that. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said, we hope nobody’s willing to start a nuclear war. The same has been voiced by the United States, up until now, that nobody’s willing to start a nuclear war. That’s why it’s so dangerous. What President Zelensky is suggesting is that NATO and Russia should collide over Ukraine. They should have a risk of military warfare over Ukraine. What kind of President would want a military confrontation between NATO and Russia on his soil, on Ukraine’s soil. He’s the Ukrainian President but, does he even think about the people living in Ukraine?
