Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged on Thursday that some of the country’s foreign foes dream about biting off pieces of the country’s vast territory, warning that Moscow would “knock their teeth out” if they ever try.
In strong remarks during a conference call with officials, the President noted that foreign efforts to contain Russia date back to centuries.
“In all times, the same thing happened: once Russia grew stronger, they found pretexts to hamper its development,” Mr. Putin said, alleging that some critics of Russia, who he didn’t name, have argued that it’s unfair for it to keep its vast natural riches all to itself.
“Everyone wants to bite us or bite something off us, but those who would like to do so should know that we would knock their teeth out so that they couldn’t bite,” the Russian leader said. “The development of our military is the guarantee of that.”
The Kremlin has made the modernisation of the country’s armed forces a top priority amid tensions with the U.S. and its allies. Russia-West ties have sunk to post-Cold War lows over 2014 annexation of Crimean Peninsula, accusations of Russian meddling in elections, hacking attacks, and other issues.
