Putin: No Need to ‘Plant Permanent Revolutions’

In an interview with Slovak journalists ahead of his visit to Slovakia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on February 22 that Russia has its interests in the Commonwealth of Independent States and there is no need, as he put it, “to plant permanent revolutions” in the post Soviet space.

His comments followed a question regarding the creation of some kind of ‘pro-western ring’ around Russia, referring to Georgia and Ukraine, where peaceful power transitions occurred through protest rallies.

Vladimir Putin, who will attend plans talks with his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush in the Slovak capital of Bratislava on February 24, said that Russia is not concerned with those “turbulent events” which took place in Georgia and Ukraine. “The major concern, personally for me, is that [these] events are beyond the law and constitution,” Vladimir Putin said.

“We should understand that democracy means a correct, good law and the ability to follow this law,” Putin stated.

“Why do some countries and some nations have the privilege to observe the laws and maintain stability, while others are doomed to permanent revolutions?.. Why do we need to plant this in the post-Soviet space?” he added.

The Russian President said that nothing has changed for Moscow since the 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia, as ex-President Shevardnadze and current President Mikheil Saakashvili are both pro-western politicians.

“For us both, the previous President [Eduard Shevardnadze] and the present one [Mikheil Saakashvili] are equally attractive partners, with whom we should find a common language and seek solutions within the interests of Georgia, Russia and the entire post-Soviet space,” the Russian President said.
 
Vladimir Putin also said that Russia regards CIS countries as equal partners. “It is only up to these countries, how they build their lives – through revolutions or through the observance of laws and constitutions, within the frames of democratic institutions,” Putin said.

“I hope that each nation and each country in the post-Soviet space will be guided through its own national interests, and these instruments – the institutes of democracy, the principles of democracy – will finally gain a victory in each of these countries,” Putin added.

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