Putin says there will be no new ‘special military operations’ if the West ‘treats Russia with respect’

During Vladimir Putin’s annual Direct Line call-in program on Friday, BBC journalist Steve Rosenberg asked the Russian president what kind of future he envisions for the country — and whether dissent, enemy-hunting, internet shutdowns, or new “special military operations” would remain part of it.

Putin began his response by addressing the question about suppressing dissent, saying Rosenberg must be referring to Russia’s “foreign agents” law. He again insisted — falsely — that the legislation was modeled on U.S. law and does not involve repression or criminal liability.

As for the possibility of new military offensives, Putin said there would be no more “special military operations if you treat us with respect.” He went on to reprise his claim that the West had “tricked” Russia over NATO’s eastward expansion and dismissed warnings that Russia might attack Europe as “nonsense.”

Putin went on to say that Russia now ranks fourth globally in purchasing-power parity, compared to eighth for the U.K., and said that if the two countries combined their capabilities, “they would prosper.” But for now, he insisted, it isn’t Russia waging war on the West — it’s the West waging war on Russia “through the hands of Ukrainian nationalists.”

Putin also pointed to the new U.S. national security strategy prepared under the Trump administration, saying it contains no mention of war with Russia. “How is NATO supposed to fight without NATO’s main country?” he asked.