Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged in a meeting with intelligence officials from the CIS group of ex-Soviet countries that the West was "pumping" Ukraine with heavy weapons and there are also "plans to use a so-called 'dirty bomb' for provocations."
He claimed the world is changing and becoming multipolar in the light of the US "trying at all costs to maintain their faltering hegemony".
Over the past decade, Putin has used the phrase "unipolar world" to refer the United States, arguing the Soviet Union's demise suddenly ended the bipolar world system that had kept the US in check.
CIS is a reference to some of former Soviet republics which Russia hasn’t attacked yet.
The full text transcript of Putin's address below:
Dear colleagues!
Good afternoon!
I welcome you to Moscow at the regular meeting of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Intelligence Services of the CIS countries.
Let me note right away that over the past years the Council has established itself as a highly demanded platform for discussing a wide range of professional issues, for developing strategic decisions related to the protection of our states and the entire Commonwealth from internal and external threats.
Today your joint work is especially significant. The conflict potential in the world as a whole, as well as at the regional level, remains very high. New risks and challenges for collective security are emerging.
First of all, this is a consequence of a sharp aggravation of the global geopolitical confrontation. Literally before our eyes, the world is changing and indeed becoming multipolar. However, some players in international community are trying at all costs to maintain their faltering hegemony, using a wide range of political, military, economic, informational, and other methods and means - from breaking the legal mechanisms of strategic stability to imposing unilateral sanctions against those who disagree with their policies.
They do not shun even direct sabotage. I am referring to explosions on the Nord Stream international gas pipelines . In fact, we are talking about the destruction of the pan-European energy infrastructure. And this is done despite the fact that such, so to speak, methods, of course, cause enormous damage to the European economy, significantly worsen the living conditions of millions of people. And, in fact, they keep quiet about who did it, who is interested in it.
The tactics of blackmail, pressure, intimidation have long been used by some countries in almost the entire Commonwealth space. Thus, attempts to implement the scenarios of “color revolutions” do not stop, the map of nationalism and extremism is actively used, armed conflicts are kindled that directly threaten the security of all CIS members.
What they achieve - those who do this - we see in the example of Ukraine, which has become an instrument of American foreign policy. The country has actually lost its sovereignty and is directly controlled by the United States, which uses it as a battering ram against Russia, against our Union State with the Republic of Belarus, and against the CSTO and the CIS as a whole.
At the same time, the true attitude of the States towards its satellites is clearly visible. Almost immediately, the Ukrainian territory was turned into a testing ground for military biological experiments, and now it is being pumped up with weapons, including heavy weapons, and the statements of the Kyiv regime about the desire to acquire nuclear weapons are ignored. After all, it was said publicly by the Kyiv authorities about this - no, everyone is keeping quiet. There are also plans to use the so-called dirty bomb for provocations.
Speaking about the threats in the Commonwealth space, I will note that the level of danger posed by ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups is not decreasing. They are trying to infiltrate the CIS countries, forming conspiratorial cells, and the concentration of militant groups in Afghanistan, especially near the borders with the Central Asian republics, of course, carries a potential risk of invasion into this region.
Obviously, neither the Commonwealth as a whole, nor our countries individually have ever faced such complex threats. And our common task is to protect our peoples from them as much as possible, to strengthen stability and peace in the CIS space, to continue the development of those mutually beneficial integration processes that over the past decades have become an example of truly partnership relations.
Today it is important to mobilize all the forces and means entrusted to you to solve these problems. And, of course, to make full use of the accumulated experience and contacts, which - as we have seen more than once - significantly increase the potential and efficiency of each service.
One of the priorities is to jointly counter attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Commonwealth countries. We know with you what it is. To do this - to counter this - it is necessary to more actively open and stop the work of foreign intelligence services, aimed at destabilizing the situation in each individual state - a member of the CIS.
It is important to continue the coordinated systemic fight against terrorism. Recently, there has been a positive trend in this area. Thus, the number of terrorist crimes, including terrorist attacks, has decreased in almost all Commonwealth countries.
It is necessary to further develop cooperation in the field of anti-terror. In particular, to continue the exchange of information on those involved in or suspected of terrorist and extremist activities, to concentrate efforts on identifying and blocking the channels of penetration of terrorists under the cover of migration flows, including the spread of foreign mercenaries with combat experience, which poses a serious threat.
Serious challenges are posed by the black arms market in Ukraine. Cross-border criminal groups are actively involved in its smuggling to other regions. It's not just about small arms. There are still risks of more powerful weapons falling into the hands of criminals, including man-portable air defense systems and high-precision weapons.
Further. [The attack] on the Crimean bridge, sabotage attempts at the Kursk nuclear power plant, at least around the nuclear power plant, such sabotage has already been committed, and many other incidents show that increased security measures must be taken in relation to critical transport and energy infrastructure. It is these facilities, as well as places of mass stay of citizens, that should be protected as much as possible.
As before, such tasks as combating cybercrime and drug trafficking, liquidating cross-border criminal communities and, of course, developing cooperation in protecting state borders remain relevant.
I am sure that today's meeting will serve the common cause of strengthening the security of our countries and the Commonwealth as a whole, of course, will increase the effectiveness of joint actions of special services to neutralize common threats.
Dear colleagues, friends, I wish you success - success in your very necessary, in-demand work, difficult but very necessary work.
Thank you for your attention. Thank you.
