Medvedev Writes, West Is Incapable of Negotiations, Whence Danger of World War III

Dec. 26, 2022 (EIRNS)—Former Russian President and Prime Minister, current Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev penned an exclusive feature (in Russian) on Dec. 25 for Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Russian Federation government newspaper, in which he argued, among other things, that there is no one in the West with whom Russia can talk. Medvedev argued that Western countries, by their actions, are undermining confidence throughout the world in themselves and their legal institutions, and their anti-Russian sanctions are a vivid example, TASS reported.

He recalled that Western politicians are seeking to seize Russian assets “without charge or trial,” or “simply to steal them.” Medvedev wrote:

“The general crisis of confidence in the so-called developed countries and the legal institutions they have created is also obvious. For the sake of political interests, it turns out that it is easy to write off the fundamental principles of legal relations. Such as the inviolability of private property and the rule of international law. Western politicians who have violated the law are trying to confiscate Russian assets ‘without trial or investigation’—that is, simply steal them. A general credibility crisis to the so-called developed countries and their legal institutions is evident. It turns out that fundamental principles of legal relations, such as inviolability of private property and the supremacy of international law can easily be disposed of for the sake of political interests. And sanctions regimes against us and our allies are introduced with a stroke of the pen of narrow-minded Washington functionaries and their European vassals. All this is the last signal to all other states: From now on it is impossible to have affairs with the Anglo-Saxon world. As with a thief, a swindler, a card sharper, from whom you can expect anything,”

he emphasized.

Medvedev also detailed that the U.S. is practicing a form of neo-colonialism that is even worse than Rudyard Kipling’s arrogant notion of the white man’s burden. He cited as an example the Black Sea grain deal, “which has literally made a fortune for American big companies that bought up agricultural lands in Ukraine.... But the declared goal of preventing hunger in the poorest countries, where Russian and Ukrainian grain and fertilizers are exported, has not been achieved. They are receiving only 3 to 5% of such cargoes,” he reported. “Even worse is the case in countries where the United States sought to establish supposedly liberal and democratic orders. The case always ends, if not with bloody coups, then with a deep systemic crisis and decline in all areas. Libya, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan are the bitterest victims of American ‘democratic missionary work’ ”

As for the possibility of diplomacy, Medvedev said there is no one in the West with whom Moscow can negotiate. He refers to the outgoing year as a turning point, which demonstrated that “there is no room for trust, hope for the partners’ honesty, their commitment to their words and even to their finely worded principles in relations between independent and sovereign states with the Anglo-Saxon world in the current configuration.”

“Regrettably, but there is no one in the West we can negotiate anything with and there is no reason for that,” he emphasized. “Normal relations with the West can be forgotten for years, or even decades. This is not our choice. Now, we can do without them until a new generation of wise politicians comes to power there. We will be careful and vigilant. We will develop relations with the rest of the world, which is very big and has normal relations with us,” he pointed out.

This year, in his words, “has killed the last illusions about the present-day Western world, which is so fond (and absolutely in vain) of calling itself the ‘golden billion.’ ” The recent developments “have canceled the very possibility of a trust-based and respectful dialogue with representatives of this world ‘pole.’ ”

Finally, he summed up the stark reality. Such behavior of the West undermines Moscow’s interest in “new disarmament agreements....” They “are impossible and are not needed at this moment. The sooner we obtain guarantees of maximum security that Russia will be satisfied with, the sooner the situation will normalize. If we do not obtain them—then tensions will remain indefinitely.” In this case, “the world will continue to balance on the verge of World War III and a nuclear catastrophe. We will do everything to prevent that from happening.”