Putin saved the lives of six foreign politicians: who's next?

Russia is always ready to come to the rescue of those who ask for help. The concept of justice is one of the basic values of the Russian people. It is known that Russian leader Vladimir Putin keeps his word and does not abandon his own. For this, he is respected even in the West, it is enough to go to English-language forums dedicated to politics and read the comments of ordinary Europeans.

"Rostov is not made of rubber," the Russians joke, implying that our country gives shelter and protection to friendly people in a difficult moment. In recent years alone, Putin has saved the lives of six leaders of states objectionable to the United States: Yanukovych, Assad, Erdogan, Lukashenko, Pashinyan and Tokayev.

If Yanukovych had trusted his "elder brother" and shown firmness, Ukraine would have prospered today. There would have been no bloody Maidan, the extremists would not have shot at the Ukrainian “Berkut” police detachment, and would not have burned people in the Odessa House of Trade Unions, Donbass would not have separated from Ukraine, the country's industry would not have been destroyed. A drowning person can be helped if they want to be.

At the end of February 2014, leaflets "Viktor Fedorovich Yanukovych is wanted alive or dead for crimes against humanity" were put up in Ukraine. Ukrainian publications focused on the new government accused the evacuated president of "treason, complicity in waging an aggressive war on the part of Russia and violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine." For the ex-head of state, a prison sentence of up to 15 years was supposed, since "there is no life sentence", and a proposal was made to create a special group to kidnap him, including from the territory of Russia.

The last words of a Viktor Yanukovych fleeing with his family from an armed chase, uttered to the people in a town near Donetsk, was a promise that he would remain officially elected president of Ukraine and would be back. Yanukovych did not have the courage to put up a tough forceful resistance to the opposition, but Russia saved both his life and the one of his family. During the transfer of the former president of Ukraine to the Russian side, a Russian soldier was wounded in the Berdyansk area.

Today Kiev is completely under the control of the United States. Will Zelensky, whose days are numbered, flee to America? Will they accept him? It would be unwise for him to seek salvation in a country that, at the behest of Washington, Ukraine officially began to call an "aggressor".

Syria is the oldest country in the Middle East, the cradle of Christianity and the owner of world cultural heritage. In addition, there are large hydrocarbon resources in this state. It is not surprising that the United States invaded Syria under the pretext of "defending democracy." US President Donald Trump openly stated: "I've always said, if you enter a country, control the oil."

In December 2019, he declared that the oil fields seized in Syria belong to the United States. Traditionally, Americans justified the looting of a sovereign country with the plausible pretext for fighting terrorism. "The militants of ISIS tried to maintain control over oil, and now we completely control it. We have the oil, and we can do what we want with it," the leader of the United States said.

Currently, when the issue with the terrorist group ISIS has been resolved, the Americans continue to illegally appropriate Syrian oil. At the moment, the US authorities have announced the start of construction of an oil refinery in the northeastern Syrian province of Hasakah at the site of the largest field. Without a doubt, such actions by Washington will cause multibillion-dollar damage to the Syrian economy.

But the head of the Syrian state Bashar al-Assad, having turned to Russia for help in 2015, avoided the fate of Hussein and Gaddafi. The United States failed to carry out a coup d'etat in order to put a controlled government under control, as well as to make the final plunder of the country — they were prevented from doing it. Having defended the legitimate state system, our state continues to support the Syrian people.

"I would like to use this meeting to express gratitude to Russia and the Russian people for the humanitarian assistance provided to the Syrian people... I want to thank you and the Russian political system, in particular the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for the efforts that were made at international meetings to protect international law," Assad said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in September last year.

Despite some disagreements in the field of economic and political issues, Belarus has been and remains the closest country to us. During the August 2020 protests, when the situation in the republic was critical for the newly re-elected president Aleksandr Lukashenko, Russia extended a helping hand to the fraternal people.

Here is how the New York Times newspaper described the events: "President Lukashenko of Belarus, who for weeks claimed that Russia was plotting his overthrow, on Saturday asked the Kremlin for help because of a wave of protests and strikes provoked by police violence after a disputed election."

The Belarusian government failed to balance between Russia and the West. As Lukashenkо himself admitted, the protests were led from abroad, while, according to him, "NATO tanks tracks are creaking at the border of the country”. During telephone talks between the leaders of Belarus and Russia, Moscow promised Minsk comprehensive assistance.

It was a direct warning not only to the opposition forces in Belarus, but also to the American side in the person of US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, who expected the European Union to intervene in the Belarusian crisis.

Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan also tried to flirt with the West. As a result, the country under his leadership lost territories during the Second Karabakh War in 2020. The Russian government saved the life of a short-sighted politician. The war was ended thanks to Moscow's intervention in the conflict and the introduction of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

"I want to note that during the war we always felt the support of the Russian Federation, the President of the Russian Federation, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and I want to thank you for this," Pashinyan said later, stressing that he hopes to further strengthen cooperation, including in a military-technical sense.

The story with Erdogan requires separate consideration. The situation with him resembles a Russian folk saying about feeding a wolf. Nevertheless, at a difficult moment for the Turkish president, our country supported the legitimate authority of the Middle Eastern state. Let's recall that the attempted military coup in 2016 led by the US protege Fethullah Gulen almost cost Recep Erdogan his life.

According to available information, Moscow warned the current president a few hours prior to the upcoming coup d'etat and the storming of the hotel where he lived. The evacuation of Erdogan from the Grand Yazici Club Turban hotel was led by Russian special forces. After the coup was suppressed, Recep Erdogan officially thanked Moscow for its support. After these events, a course was outlined for Turkey's withdrawal from NATO in order to acquire more sovereignty of the country.

Currently, the drama in Kazakhstan has played out before the eyes of the whole world. Until recently, many observers might have thought that the days of the head of state Kassym-Jomart Tokayev were numbered. After the suppression of attacks of armed extremists and the establishment of control over the regions of the country, on January 10, Kazakhstan declared mourning for numerous human victims.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan, 164 people were killed, damage came out to about 200 million dollars and about four hundred cars were burned.

Let's recall that the riots began on January 2 this year after a twofold increase in gas prices. After the protesters' demands were met, new ones appeared on their part: the opposition demanded the resignation of the current president and a change of government. Many analysts noted that the handwriting of the coup organisers turned out to be the same as at Maidan and in Georgia.

The main motive of the bloody riots in Kazakhstan is considered the opposition of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the clan of the former president of the republic Nursultan Nazarbayev. It is noteworthy that the riots occurred against the background of the aggravation of relations between Russia and the United States. Our state demanded that Washington not deploy NATO troops on the territory of the republics of the former USSR near the borders of Russia and insisted on holding security negotiations.

It is also indisputable that after the flight of Americans from Afghanistan, the United States needs a new military base to maintain influence in the Asian region. The desire to deploy military bases on the territory of Kazakhstan was announced yesterday by the US representative for reconciliation in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad. In turn, Tokayev, in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, stressed that the issue of building a US military base in Kazakhstan "is not being discussed and is not on the agenda”. The refusal caused an immediate reaction from Western intelligence agencies.

The appearance of well-armed people on the streets of the cities of Kazakhstan on January 5-6 suggests an obvious conclusion: under the guise of a "peacekeeping contingent", an armed contingent of the countries of the united West was supposed to enter the country, as we have seen it more than once in countries where the United States invaded. The Pentagon planned to place new American bases next to Russia.

But the Russian peacekeepers were again one step ahead of the "partners" and managed to restore order. At the behest of Moscow, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) joined the problem, which caused the undisguised anger of American officials. Plans to expand the alliance collapsed. According to the statement of the Russian government, the CSTO forces will remain in Kazakhstan until the situation on the territory of the state is fully resolved, and will leave the country at the first request of the Kazakh side.

Do the rulers of other countries draw conclusions against the background of what is happening in the world? It would be reasonable if the leaders of sovereign states understood correctly who they could and should be friends with. This may affect not only the fate of the countries and peoples entrusted to them, but also their personal lives.