Putin addresses MI5 ‘nonsense’

The EU and UK’s own policies are causing unrest on their streets, the Russian leader has argued

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed British intelligence claims that Moscow aims to create chaos across the UK and EU as complete “nonsense.”

Earlier this month, Ken McCallum, head of the British intelligence agency MI5, alleged that Russia was on a mission to create “sustained mayhem on British and European streets.” A BBC journalist asked the Russian leader to address the accusation on Thursday at a news conference following the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan.

“This is utter nonsense,” Putin stated. “What is happening on the streets of some European cities is the result of those countries’ internal policies.”

READ MORE: MI5 blames Russia for ‘mayhem on the streets’

“The European economy is teetering on the brink of recession, and the leading economies of the eurozone are actually in recession,” the Russian president said, emphasizing that none of this is Moscow’s fault.

This causes a corresponding reaction because people’s living standards are falling.

Putin argued that these issues stem from the West’s decision to reject Russian energy resources.

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“Western countries, European countries, have given up on our energy resources,” he said, noting that one pipeline of Nord Stream 2 remains intact, and Germany’s decision to keep it deactivated is “political.” He added that the US has “created the conditions for a whole sector of the German economy to move to the United States.”

Additionally, Putin pointed out that some countries are affected by the misuse of “green” policies, shutting down anything related to nuclear power or hydrocarbon fuels. “Many in Europe and elsewhere, including the US, have abused and continue to abuse the environmental agenda and global warming discussions,” he said.

Putin further suggested that these accusations represent a self-projection and are part of the West’s efforts to evade accountability for its own mistakes during talks with Milorad Dodik, the leader of Republika Srpska, later that day.

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“We do not have such tools… This is all to push their own agenda and evade responsibility for the fundamental mistakes the West has made in its dealings with other countries, all in pursuit of domination at any cost,” the Russian leader stated.

“We are not fighting with anyone; we don’t want any confrontation. We are simply going our own way, creating new mechanisms of cooperation based on equality and mutual respect,” he declared at the BRICS summit, a group that currently represents more than 45% of the world’s population and has surpassed the US-led G7 bloc in its share of global GDP.