Kremlin hard-liner: Russians would ‘rather starve’ than surrender Putin to Western aggressors

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Kremlin hard-liner: Russians would ‘rather starve’ than surrender Putin to Western aggressors

Russia’s deputy prime minister, speaking at the World Economic Forum, says that his country’s dispute with the US and Europe goes far beyond issues over Ukraine

The Russian people will endure any hardship to defend President Vladimir Putin against aggression by the West even if they don’t have enough to eat, the country’s deputy leader vowed in Davos.

“Read our history: the Russians will never give up their leader. We will tighten our belt, eat less food, suffer any privations, but if outsiders want to force changes on us, we will be united as never before,” said Igor Shuvalov, the deputy prime minister.
Mr Shuvalov said Russia’s dispute with Europe and America goes far beyond Ukraine: “It erupted there but it could have been anywhere. This is about the West trying to show us our place and refusing to treat us an equal. They are telling us to sit in a corner quietly.”

“If this doesn’t change, it will be a bleeding wound for decades. People don’t blame Putin because they know this is an attack against Russia,” he said.

Despite the hot rhetoric, he revealed that Russia is to seek urgent support from China to boost its vanishing foreign exchange reserves as the combination of sanctions and the crash in oil prices cripple the Russian economy.

“I don’t want to beat about the bush. The sanctions are very destructive and the longer they last, the worse it is going to be,” he said.
“The Russian economy is in a very serious situation. It may not look as bad as it was in 2008 but this crisis is going to be a longer, deeper, and more protracted.”

“We are all having to study Henry Kissinger’s book thoroughly on how to cope with sanctions,” he said, referring to World Order, the latest oeuvre by the former doyen of US diplomacy. It is considered the definitive manual of global statecraft.

Mr Shuvalov said the Kremlin is reaching out to China to ensure sufficient credit lines and to help develop an alternative payments system to the US-dominated SWIFT nexus. This comes amid fears that sanctions could escalate further, potentially cutting off the lifeblood of the Russian economy.

“We are starting a dialogue with China on all possible channels. We have no illusions but we will develop this agenda very quickly,” he said, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “The finance minister is to go the China very soon.”….More Here

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Kremlin hard-liner: Russians would ‘rather starve’ than surrender Putin to Western aggressors