Putin: Some circumstances may prompt Russia to adjust foreign policy, but no such circumstances exist now
SOCHI. Oct 24 (Interfax) - Certain circumstances might prompt Russia to adjust some aspects of its foreign policy, but there are no such circumstances at the present time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"I presume that, if we have to resort to some changes under the influence of external circumstances, this is possible, but no such extreme situations have occurred so far, and we are not going to change anything," Putin said at a forum of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi on Friday.
Russia has not changed its priorities in relation to the situation in the Middle East, or the Iranian nuclear program, or the crisis related to North Korea, or the fight against terrorism and crime in general, or drug trafficking when subjected to unfriendly actions on the part of its Western partners "absolutely obviously driven by the United States, which we all know," Putin said.
"Russia hasn't changed its orientation. We are a country having a traditional orientation. And this is orientation toward cooperation and a search for joint solutions," Putin said.
"The premise that Russia claims some exceptionality is absolutely false. We don't claim any special place under the sun, but we simply presume that all participants in international communication should respect each other's interests. And we are willing to respect the interests of our partners, but we expect an equally respectful attitude toward our interests," he said.