Putin: It’s Not an Ultimatum, “We Simply Have Nowhere Further to Retreat To”

Putin gave a speech to “the Expanded Meeting of the Ministry of Defense Board” that was also televised for the entire Russian armed forces.

Parts of it were mundane, dealing with pedestrian issues only of interest to members of the Russian military (aka the support for their housing, etc), but parts of it were downright eerie. We’re definitely in a very deep crisis and confrontation right now. You can read the two segments dealing with the current state of heightened tensions below.

For me what was especially interesting was that Putin echoed my own language from a few days ago, where I argued that “there isn’t another step back the Russians can take.” Putin put it as “we simply have nowhere further to retreat to” and again as “we simply have no room to retreat.”

It’s not a matter of Russia issuing diktats. It’s a matter of Russia that can no longer compromise because there is nothing left that can be compromised on. Now the Russian back is to the wall.

We already see that some of our detractors are interpreting them as Russia’s ultimatum. Is it an ultimatum or not? Of course, not.

[w]hat they are doing, or trying or planning to do in Ukraine, is not happening thousands of kilometres away from our national border. It is on the doorstep of our house. They must understand that we simply have nowhere further to retreat to.

Do they really think we do not see these threats? Or do they think that we will just stand idly watching threats to Russia emerge? This is the problem: we simply have no room to retreat. That is the question.

Mind you the only steps Putin announced Russia would be taking are “military-technical reciprocal measures.” In Russian government parlance that almost certainly refers only to a change in posture, for example a deployment of new weapons in new locations, and falls short of war. The latter would be a “military measure” rather than a “military-technical” one.

[i]f our Western colleagues continue their obviously aggressive line, we will take appropriate military-technical reciprocal measures and will have a tough response to their unfriendly steps


Comrade officers,

Relying on the solid foundation and a powerful research and technology achievements of the past few years, we must definitely continue to improve and strengthen our Armed Forces, which is exactly what we will do.

The military political situation in the world remains complicated, with increased conflict potential and new seats of tension in several regions. In particular, the growth of the US and NATO military forces in direct proximity to the Russian border and major military drills, including unscheduled ones, are a cause for concern.

It is extremely alarming that elements of the US global defence system are being deployed near Russia. The Mk 41 launchers, which are located in Romania and are to be deployed in Poland, are adapted for launching the Tomahawk strike missiles. If this infrastructure continues to move forward, and if US and NATO missile systems are deployed in Ukraine, their flight time to Moscow will be only 7–10 minutes, or even five minutes for hypersonic systems. This is a huge challenge for us, for our security.

In this context, as you are aware, I invited the US President to start talks on the drafting of concrete agreements. Incidentally, during our conversation he actually proposed appointing senior officials to oversee this sphere. It was in response to his proposal that we drafted our proposals on precluding the further eastward expansion of NATO and the deployment of offensive strike systems in the countries bordering on Russia. As you are aware, we have sent the drafts of relevant agreements to our American colleagues and the NATO leadership.

We need long-term legally binding guarantees. Well, we know very well that even legal guarantees cannot be completely fail-safe, because the United States easily pulls out of any international treaty that has ceased to be interesting to it for some reason, sometimes offering explanations and sometimes not, as was the case with the ABM and the Open Skies treaties – nothing at all.

However, we need at least something, at least a legally binding agreement rather than just verbal assurances. We know the worth of such verbal assurances, fine words and promises. Take the recent past, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when we were told that our concerns about NATO’s potential expansion eastwards were absolutely groundless. And then we saw five waves of the bloc’s eastward expansion. Do you remember how it happened? All of you are adults. It happened at a time when Russia’s relations with the United States and main member states of NATO were cloudless, if not completely allied.

I have already said this in public and will remind you of this again: American specialists were permanently present at the nuclear arms facilities of the Russian Federation. They went to their office there every day, had desks and an American flag. Wasn’t this enough? What else is required? US advisors worked in the Russian Government, career CIA officers gave their advice. What else did they want? What was the point of supporting separatism in the North Caucasus, with the help of even ISIS – well, if not ISIS, there were other terrorist groups. They obviously supported terrorists. What for? What was the point of expanding NATO and withdrawing from the ABM Treaty?

They are to blame for what is happening in Europe now, for the escalation of tensions there. Russia had to respond at every step, and the situation was continuously going from bad to worse. It was deteriorating all the time. And here we are today, in a situation when we are forced to resolve it: After all, we cannot allow the scenario I mentioned. Is anyone unable to grasp this? This should be clear.

Sometimes I wonder: Why did they do all this in the then conditions? This is unclear. I think the reason lies in the euphoria from the victory in the so-called Cold War or the so-called victory in the Cold War. This was due to their wrong assessment of the situation at that time, due to their unprofessional, wrong analysis of probable scenarios. There are simply no other reasons.

I would like to emphasise again: we are not demanding any special exclusive terms for ourselves. Russia stands for equal and indivisible security in the whole of Eurasia.

Naturally, as I have already noted, if our Western colleagues continue their obviously aggressive line, we will take appropriate military-technical reciprocal measures and will have a tough response to their unfriendly steps. And, I would like to stress that we are fully entitled to these actions that are designed to ensure Russia’s security and independence.

As we know well, they are operating thousands of kilometres away from their national territory under different pretexts, including the need to ensure their own security. When international law and the UN Charter get in their way, they declare them obsolete and unnecessary. However, when something meets their interests, they immediately refer to the norms of international law, the UN Charter, international humanitarian law and so on. These manipulations are annoying.

On an informal note, I would like to add a few words to what the Minister said and what I said in my opening remarks. Everyone is discussing this and, of course, primarily the Armed Forces. I am referring to our documents, our draft treaties and agreements on ensuring strategic stability that we sent to the leadership of the United States and NATO.

We already see that some of our detractors are interpreting them as Russia’s ultimatum. Is it an ultimatum or not? Of course, not.

As a reminder: everything that our partners – let us call them that – the United States has been doing in previous years, supposedly ensuring its interests and security thousands of kilometres away from their national territory – they have been doing these tough things, the boldest things, without UN Security Council authorisation.

What was the pretext to bomb Yugoslavia? Was it authorised by the Security Council, or what? Where is Yugoslavia and where is the United States? They destroyed the country. Indeed, there was an internal conflict, they had their own problems, but who gave them the right to conduct airstrikes against a European capital? No one did. They just chose to do so, and their satellites were running behind them yelping along. So much for international law.

Under what pretext did they go into Iraq? It was Iraq developing weapons of mass destruction. They went in, destroyed the country, created a hotbed of international terrorism, and then it turned out that they made a mistake: “The intelligence failed us.” Wow! They destroyed a country. The intelligence failed – that is all they had to say to justify their actions. It turned out there were no weapons of mass destruction there. On the contrary, everything had been destroyed as agreed.

How did they go into Syria? With Security Council authorisation? No. They do as they please. However, what they are doing, or trying or planning to do in Ukraine, is not happening thousands of kilometres away from our national border. It is on the doorstep of our house. They must understand that we simply have nowhere further to retreat to.

There are experts here, sitting with us, I stay in constant contact with them. The United States does not possess hypersonic weapons yet, but we know when they will have it. It cannot be hidden. Everything goes on record, successful or unsuccessful tests alike. We have a sense of when it might happen. They will supply hypersonic weapons to Ukraine and then use them as cover – that does not mean that they will start using them tomorrow, because we already have Tsircon and they do not – to arm extremists from a neighbouring state and incite them against certain regions of the Russian Federation, such as Crimea, when they think circumstances are favourable.

Do they really think we do not see these threats? Or do they think that we will just stand idly watching threats to Russia emerge? This is the problem: we simply have no room to retreat. That is the question.

Armed conflicts and bloodshed are absolutely not our choice. We do not want to see events go that way. We want to use political and diplomatic means to resolve problems but we want to at least have clearly formulated legal guarantees. This is what our proposals are all about. We set them down on paper and sent them to Brussels and Washington, and we hope to receive a clear and comprehensive response to these proposals.

There are certain signals that our partners appear to be willing to work on that. However, there is also a danger that they will attempt to drown our proposals in words, or in a swamp, in order to take advantage of this pause and do whatever they want to do.

To make it clear to everyone: we are aware of this, and this turn of events, these developments, will not work for us. We look forward to constructive and meaningful talks with a visible outcome – and within a definite timeframe – that would ensure equal security for all.

Comments (15)
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  • Magellan

    Putin and his Ministry of Defense Board should act preventively in Ukraine. The US outlaw empire is obviously determined to attack Russia from NATO countries. It is imperative that Putin and his major state act and as soon as possible.

    • yew

      The goal of the Zionist British super elite is to spread divisions and conflicts, everywhere, and steal and plunder the divided regions.
      Russia is just its biggest prize, its been eyeing it for centuries.
      And it has made a deal with the Devil to get it.
      
      The whole history since the late 19th century must be viewed as the Anglo Zionist Empire’s attempt to keep mainly Germany, but also France, and Russia down, Europe separated to disintegrate the Middle East for oil, etc. Only then everything makes sense.
      The Cold War was dreamed up by the Anglo Zionist super elite to make sure Russia and the US never formed a peaceful alliance; and to justify massive military budgets.
       

      PUTIN THE GREAT EQUALIZER

  • jimbogoofball

    Why is Putin still refusing to do something? Its no wonder gringo considers him to be weak and useless. He REFUSES to stand up and fight. What else is one to think from actions like that? I vote for war. TODAY. It does not matter what happens aftr that. It is better then living under covid dictatorship so I hope the war gets going before Christmas but given Putins track record I aint holding my breath waiting. I am fed up with this. Just start the war and then we can see whats happening.

    • jim

      I don’t know what you are talking about. The Russians smacked the Georgian military around recently when Georgia moved against Ossetia.

  • Raptar Driver

    Again it seems that Putin is being soft, basically asking for more problems.
    Military technical?
    At this point there is no excuse for not taking military measures.
    The great compromises of Vladimir Putin.
    NATO’s best friend.

  • jay

    It is obvious the ones who stole the US election are now heading to the Russian border and settling scores with Putin who had decided alongside president Trump to not to allow the NWO to take over of sovereign states. These maniacs will not stop at anything and everyone who has been watching events unfold in the past years can figure as much.

    • yewtaipan

      The main reason Vladimir Putin is so despised by the Western Powers is because he totally kicked them (Anglo globalist elite) out of Russia, for the benefit of the Russia people.
      Russia still have huge unexplored mineral and oil and gas natural resources.
      “Will we continue looting and destroying Russia until nothing is left?”–Alexander Solzhenitsyn
      On his deathbed, Yeltsin must have realized the extent of his and Gorbachev’s folly: “Take care of Russia” he told Putin.

      The Anglo super elite obsession with destroying Russia have everything to do with their Satanic desire to dominate and enslave the entire planet. Russia is their biggest obstacle to their goal to dominate the world.
      A tiny number of unelected, unaccountable, private oligarchs from the city of London,  make all of the major decisions which impact our lives, and with which we have to live with the consequences.
      PUTIN THE GREAT EQUALIZER

  • Thim

    There is a clear statement. It is the last ditch. Nowhere else to retreat to. A lot of people do not agree. Someone will yield, or they will fight over eastern Ukraine.

  • yewtaipan

    City of London Corporation, never got over Russia saving the Union during the Civil War.
    Russia will forever be demonized by the Anglophiles in American Government.
    Putin stands alone surrounded by a hateful, evil world and he is a shining beacon of hope for Russia and the rest of the world looking for peace.
    
    I see in Mr Putin amazing strengths of character that are always lacking in western leaders who are all obvious liars, idiots, scheming, conspiratorial rats who care nothing for the citizens of their nation.

  • Rebel Forever

    The Yankee Empire has been the bully of the world since the tyrant and liar Lincoln invaded the Confederate States of America. Lincoln eventually got the bullet to the head he richly deserved, but the Empire marched on. However, Putin could be the one who puts a halt to that shit.

    • Alice

      There seems to be a few people here who think Putin is a coward…I think he is a hero for showing the self control and intelligence not obvious in the western sector.

    • Raptar Driver

      You all will see that again Putin will compromise and back down.
      Why is it that people don’t understand that past actions are good way to predict future actions?

  • Tim Webb

    There are those who say that Putin is not Putin, because he was arrested and placed inside the glass box for the accused in a Moscow court some years ago.
    So the person Yeltsin appealed to to save Russia was not the man who occupies the presidential position today; a man who is frequently seen surrounded by the worst scoundrels on earth, the synagogue of satan, with whom he is conducting an operation to gradually sell Russia and its resources out to the political adjuncts to these Lubavitchers – Trump and his family also being affiliated with them.
    The tenets of Chabadism are that one may do evil deeds if ones good deeds balance them out; and thus, we see the various “good deeds” that “Putin” has done, so as to deceive the unwary.

  • Neil Davis

    It takes a week or more to get a response out of the West+1 because they have to wait to be told how to respond by those at the top (far above Biden, Pentagon, etc), if there is any response at all. To scare those at the top Putin must include their homes and shelters.
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  • London

    It takes a week or more to get a response out of the West+1 because they have to wait to be told how to respond by those at the top (far above Biden, Pentagon, etc), if there is any response at all. To scare those at the top Putin must include their homes and shelters.