Exceptionalism will once again be the country’s undoing, the ex-Russian president has told RT
The Ukraine conflict could have been avoided entirely if the US had shown enough “wisdom” and “flexibility” to strike a comprehensive security deal with Russia, former Russian President and current deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev has said.
The ex-president made the remarks in an exclusive interview with RT, which largely revolved around the situation in Georgia and the outcome of its recent general election. The polls resulted in a defeat of pro-Western opposition parties, with the ruling Georgian Dream party greatly reinforcing its position.
The outcome of the vote was “quite predictable” and has shown “pragmatism” of the Georgian people, Medvedev, who led Russia during a brief armed conflict with the ex-Soviet state back in 2008, said, rejecting claims that the polls were somehow influenced by Moscow.
“The Georgian Dream is very popular in the country, although the opposition is also very strong. The Georgian Dream is almost perceived as a pro-Russian party. This is not true at all. It is a thoroughly pro-Georgian party,” Medvedev stated.
“The fact that they stayed in power only means that the Georgian people are pragmatic. The Georgian people do not want war, they do not want the events of 2008 to be repeated, and they want to develop normal economic relations with the Russian Federation. That’s why this is not some operation by the Kremlin, but the choice of the Georgian people,” he added.
While the Ukraine conflict likely affected the sentiment of the Georgian people, the country is “very likely” to experience Western-backed attempts to challenge the election results and stage “clashes, skirmishes and attempts to pull off some kind of Maidan,” Medvedev suggested.
Georgia’s past experience with Western-backed ‘color revolutions,’ namely the so-called Rose Revolution, “which brought that madman [former President] Mikhail Saakashvili” into power, likely played its role as well, Medvedev suggested.
A staunchly pro-NATO and pro-US politician, Saakashvili ruled Georgia between 2003 and 2013. He led an invasion of the breakaway region of South Ossetia and an attack on Russian peacekeepers stationed there in August 2008, which prompted a five-day military intervention by Russia.
“Georgia knows what a Rose Revolution is. Georgia understands what Maidan was like, what it meant for Ukraine, and how it all ended. That’s why Georgia has become a much more pragmatic country, and we’re glad to see it,” he said.
The outcome of the election also reflected the changing attitude of Georgians towards the EU and NATO, with the idea to join both organizations apparently becoming less and less popular, Medvedev suggested. At the same time, the Ukrainian conflict has shown the “real price” of NATO aspirations, he said.
Moscow has repeatedly cited Ukraine’s plans to join the US-led alliance and NATO’s military with Kiev as one of the root causes of the conflict. Russia views NATO’s continued expansion eastwards as a threat to its national security.
Given the fact that Russia’s position on “new NATO members appearing near its borders is well known,” the Ukrainian conflict could have been avoided completely if the West had listened to Moscow’s proposal of striking a comprehensive security deal proposed by President Vladimir Putin in late 2021, Medvedev stated.
“If Western countries, especially the United States, had had enough flexibility and wisdom to make a security agreement with Russia, there would have been no special military operation [in Ukraine]. But they’re in the habit of bullying everyone into submission. They operate on a principle of American exceptionalism and the primacy of US interests. This is a big mistake. You know what, I’ll say this – it will be their undoing someday,” he stressed.
