Putin says he regrets not starting 'special military operation' against Ukraine earlier

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that the only thing he regrets is that the "special military operation" in Ukraine had not started earlier.

Commenting on reactions in the West to his interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson in a televised show, Putin said it is good that Western politicians watched the interview but unfortunate that his words are being twisted.

"Where did I say that the beginning of the special operation is connected to the threat of NATO's aggression against Russia? I said that we were constantly deceived about the non-expansion of NATO to the East. (There have been) five expansions, (which is) a complete deception," he emphasized.

Putin reiterated Russia's concern over the possibility of Ukraine being admitted into NATO, noting that the trigger for the beginning of the combat activities in Ukraine was Kyiv's refusal to implement the Minsk Agreements, a set of accords signed in Belarus's capital Minsk in 2014 to mend differences between the divided Ukrainian society.

"The trigger was the complete refusal of the current Ukrainian authorities to implement the Minsk Agreements and the incessant attacks with numerous human casualties on the republics of Donbass, which we had not recognized for eight years, who asked us to recognize them in view of the futility of resolving the issue within the Minsk Agreements.

"We recognized them, then concluded a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance with them and, in accordance with the UN Charter, fulfilled our obligations under this treaty. We did not start the war, but we are only trying to stop it," he said.

The Russian leader pointed out that for eight years, from 2014-2022, which he described as "the first stage," Russia tried to settle the conflict via political and diplomatic means, but then German chancellor and French president admitted that the purpose of the Minsk Agreements was "to prepare Ukraine for the war with Russia."

"The only thing we can regret is that we did not take action earlier, believing that we were dealing with decent people," he said.

Asked about his impressions about Tucker Carlson, Putin said he expected him to be aggressive, but the journalist turned out to be patient and did not give him a reason to answer "sharply."

Commenting on threats against Carlson, Putin said "everything is possible in today's America," reminding about the fate of another journalist, Julian Assange, who is currently in jail.

If Tucker is "punished" in any way, then "the liberal-democratic dictatorship will show its true face," he stressed.

- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken 'our man,’ Biden better for Russia as 'more predictable'

Commenting on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarks that his ancestors fled Russia due to the persecution of Jewish people, Putin noted that Blinken's ancestors lived in Kyiv.

"If he says that his great grandfather fled from Russia from the Jewish pogroms, then he believes that at least in 1904, that is the year when his great grandfather left Kyiv for the US, there was no Ukraine, if he says that he fled Russia. Going by this, Blinken is our man," he joked.

Putin encouraged people to check the maps showing where Jewish pogroms took place in Russia -- generally on the territory of the modern Ukraine, noting that the first pogrom in Kyiv occurred in 1905, and if Blinken's great grandfather left the country in 1904, he could only get to know about it from newspapers.

Asked about reports claiming that the grandfather of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has been identified as an officer in the Wehrmacht, Putin said he against shifting responsibility for Nazi crimes onto the current generation.

"I don't think the current generation of Germans has to bear responsibility for everything that Nazi Germany did. We must not shift responsibility for everything that Hitler and his henchmen did onto the people of the current generation…It would be unjust," he noted.

At the same time, he highlighted the necessity of putting an end to attempts of declaring some nations "exclusive" and "chosen" because "this is what the Nazi ideology began with."

Putin called for building a global anti-fascist, anti-Nazi system, noting that it should not be at a state level, but at the level of public consciousness, because "only in this case it will be effective."

Explaining US presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s differences with European leaders, Putin said "he has his own view on how the US has to develop ties with allies," and this view is often in opposition with the expectations of his European counterparts.

Putin said US President Joe Biden’s re-election is better for Russia because he is "more predictable." However, Moscow is ready to "work with any US leader whom the American people show confidence in."