Russia cautions regional allies in opposition to US ties, cites ‘Western-backed coup’ in Georgia

Russia has cautioned its allies in opposition to aligning with the US, citing a Western-backed coup try in Georgia, situated on the intersection of Europe and Asia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint information convention with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud after their talks in Moscow. (Photo: Moscow)

By India Today World Desk: Russia has cautioned its allies within the former Soviet Union in opposition to aligning with the United States, citing a “Western-backed coup attempt” in Georgia much like Ukraine’s ‘Maidan’ revolution in 2014, reported information company Reuters.

Russia, presently engaged within the deadliest battle in Europe since World War 2, has confronted challenges to its authority from neighbouring nations and conventional allies since President Vladimir Putin deployed troops to Ukraine in February of final 12 months.

The warning got here in opposition to the backdrop of 1000’s of Georgians protesting in opposition to a ‘foreign agents’ legislation that they imagine was impressed by Russia and will hurt the nation’s efforts to type nearer ties with Europe, with demonstrations happening for 3 consecutive nights.

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“It is very similar to the Kyiv Maidan,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov instructed state tv, referring to the 2014 Maidan revolution which toppled a pro-Russian president in Ukraine.

“It seems to me that all the countries located around the Russian Federation should draw their own conclusions about how dangerous it is to take a path towards engagement with the United States’ zone of responsibility, its zone of interests.”

The feedback made by the highest-ranking diplomat in Putin’s authorities reveal the extent of concern in Moscow relating to the erosion of its authority, from Armenia and Azerbaijan within the South Caucasus to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan in Central Asia. Putin frames the battle in Ukraine as a vital battle with the West over the way forward for Russia and its former Soviet and imperial satellites, which have been wanted by the United States, NATO, the EU, and China since 1991.

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Meanwhile, Washington, Brussels, and Nato declare that they’re legitimately establishing relationships with nations that gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and that many of those nations are anxious about their rather more dominant neighbor, Russia.

POST-SOVIET BATTLE

Throughout historical past, Russia has been the last word decision-maker on the subject of affairs within the in depth territories that constituted the Russian empire and subsequently the Soviet Union for nearly three centuries.

However, the battle in Ukraine, which Putin portrays as a defining second when Moscow lastly stood up in opposition to Western efforts to restrain it, has constrained Russia’s navy. Critics of Putin argue that the warfare may doubtlessly set off a brand new period of Soviet disintegration, resulting in turmoil in Russia and enabling rivals to shift Moscow’s former satellites towards the West or China.

Washington and the broader West, needed to punish Russia as a result of it was perceived as “too independent a player” which challenged the hegemony of the United States, Lavrov was quoted as saying by Reuters.

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Lavrov, who has served as Putin’s international minister since 2004, advised that exterior forces had orchestrated the occasions in Georgia, with the purpose of undermining Russia’s conventional allies. He alleged that the nation’s international agent legislation, which was withdrawn by parliament on Friday, had been used as a pretext to provoke an effort to take away the present management from energy.

However, he didn’t present any supporting proof for his claims. In response, opposition politicians and protestors in Georgia have denied that they’re being manipulated, stating that they merely oppose the proposed legislation and search a future that aligns with Western beliefs, which Russia, having fought a warfare with Georgia in 2008, doesn’t provide.

Published On:

Mar 11, 2023