Lagatar24 Desk
Moscow, Sept 7: As the country faces unprecedented Western sanctions over its military operation in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday it was ‘impossible’ to isolate Russia.
“No matter how much someone would like to isolate Russia, it is impossible to do this,” he said to the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Pacific port city of Vladivostok.
“I mean the sanctions fever in the West, its undisguised aggressive attempts to impose behaviour patterns on other countries, deprive them of their sovereignty and subordinate them to their will,” he added.
Washington and Brussels stunned Moscow with a series of economic and personal sanctions after President Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. Moscow is seeking to pivot the country towards the Middle East, Asia and Africa, facing growing isolation and deteriorating ties with the West. Speaking at the forum, Putin praised the growing role of the Asia-Pacific region in world affairs.
“The role … of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region has significantly increased,” he said.