04/21/2021 9:25 AM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 04/21/2021 9:25 AM
"Don't cross the red line" with
Russia
.
That was the threat of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the West this Wednesday, in his annual address to the Nation before both houses of Parliament.
The warning came amid heightened tension with the West over Ukraine and the critical health of his political rival, prisoner and ailing, Alexei Navalny.
"The use of unjust sanctions is turning into something more dangerous: an attempted coup in Belarus," Putin threatened again.
Of plots and blows
The Russian president supports Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is facing strong opposition.
"The use of unjust sanctions is becoming more dangerous," Putin said.
Photo: EFE
On April 17, Belarusian authorities announced that they had foiled
a US-
backed
plot
to
assassinate
President Lukashenko.
They said Russia's FSB security service had helped them defeat the coup attempt.
The claim was dismissed by the Belarusian opposition leader in exile, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, as
a "provocation".
"Globally, we behave prudently and modestly, often even without responding to unfriendly actions or even blatant rudeness," the Russian president declared.
But in a warning to those who take his "good intentions as a weakness", Putin said he hoped "no one has the idea of crossing a red line with Russia."
Putin: "let no one have the idea of crossing a red line with Russia."
Photo: EFE
"We will decide for ourselves
where (that line) passes
," he declared, alluding to his multiple verbal crossings with Western powers, but without providing further details.
The "sport" of attacking Russia
According to Putin, for some countries, "attacking Russia for anything has become
a kind of sport
!"
However, he did not expressly refer to the issues facing his country with the United States and the European Union (EU).
He also did not say anything about the state of health Navalny, imprisoned and - according to his relatives - very weak after three weeks on hunger strike.
Nor did he mention the deployment of tens of thousands of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine or the accusations of espionage and electoral interference in the United States.
Agencies
ap
Look also
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Joe Biden asked Vladimir Putin to "reduce" tensions in Ukraine
