In his New Year’s Eve (NYE) message to his Indian counterpart, Droupadi Murmu, and Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the countries must “continue to develop their specially privileged strategic partnership, carry out large-scale trade and economic projects in addition to energy, military technology and other areas of cooperation, [and] coordinate efforts in addressing important matters of regional and global agendas” based on “friendship and mutual respect.”
“I am confident that India’s recently started SCO and G20 presidencies will open new opportunities for building multi-dimensional Russia-India cooperation for the benefit of our peoples, in the interests of strengthening stability and security in Asia and the entire world,” he stressed.
🎄#Russia’n President Vladimir Putin sent #NewYear greetings to foreign heads of state and government, including #India’n leadership ➡️ https://t.co/DFqnDtImrc pic.twitter.com/o50pz2bjvb
— Russia in India 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbIndia) December 31, 2022
Similarly, while sending greetings of the New Year to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, Putin stated that “the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China continued to strengthen, demonstrating rapid progress and resistance to external challenges,” adding that the two allies “maintain a meaningful political dialogue.” He also noted that bilateral trade has been “breaking records” and “major trans-border infrastructure projects have been completed, including the construction of a road and railway bridges across the Amur River.”
Additionally, Putin sent messages to two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members, Hungary and Turkey, emphasising that “despite the complicated international environment, relations between the countries continue to move in a positive direction.” Putin also highlighted the “substantially expanded bilateral cooperation” between Russia and Turkey, including the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and a regional gas hub in Turkey.
In total, he greeted the heads of 20 countries and two occupied territories – South Ossetia and Abkhazia – during his NYE speech.
2/ The banality of most of the speech aligns with previous ISW assessments that #Putin may have postponed his annual address to the Russian Federation Assembly because he was uncertain of his ability to shape the Russian info space amidst increasing criticism of his war conduct.
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) January 1, 2023
Moreover, Putin slammed Western elites for “hypocritically” assuring Russia “of their peaceful intentions, including to help resolve the serious conflict in Donbas.” He accused them of encouraging “the neo-Nazis in every possible way, who continued to take military and overtly terrorist action against peaceful civilians” in Donbas.
“The West lied to us about peace while preparing for aggression, and today, they no longer hesitate to openly admit it and to cynically use Ukraine and its people as a means to weaken and divide Russia. We have never allowed anyone to do this and we will not allow it now,” he declared.
Putin further said that a “full-blown sanctions war has been unleashed against us” by the West to ensure that Russian industry, finances, and transport would “collapse and never recover.” However, he stated that they did not succeed in doing so. “We have been taking steps and measures towards strengthening our sovereignty in a vitally important field, in the economy,” he highlighted.
5. Not even a normal New Year greeting for the new year, just a bunker grudge about the endangered fate of Russia.
— Anders Åslund (@anders_aslund) December 31, 2022
Putin seems dead scared & completely lost.
Time to go or be gone!
The European Union has announced nine packages of sanctions against Russia due to the Ukraine war, including a phased ban on Russian energy and placing an embargo on Russian banks in the SWIFT network.
In this regard, Putin acknowledged that the year was of “difficult but necessary decisions” to ensure the country’s “full sovereignty and a powerful consolidation of our society.”
“Russia’s future is what matters the most,” he underlined, adding, “The moral and historical truth is on our side.”