Russian Interests Quotes

I am the president of 146 million Russians. I have to represent their interests. We are willing to settle this without any conflicts and to search for compromises on the basis of international law.

Why would Russia care about chemical weapons in Syria? They have no incentive to care.

Much of the hostility toward Putin stems from the fact that he not only defies the West when standing up for Russia's interests, he often succeeds in his defiance and goes unpunished and unrepentant.

Trump has long been a fan of Vladimir Putin but seems to be unaware that Russia's goal in Syria is simply the maintenance of its longtime ally President Bashar al-Assad in power. Indeed, Moscow has hitherto shown little appetite to focus on ISIS.

You want independence. Go ahead. You are not worth Russian blood or money.

I'm not sure, but [Russia] might be happy to see this guy [Dan Fried] exiting stage left.

The Russians have a lot at stake, and the power of Moscow pride should never be underestimated.

The fact that Turkey, the U.S., and Russia and other countries are really interested in Cyprus because of its strategic location... the fact that Russians launder their money there to avoid sanctions, and the fact that key U.S. and Russia players were there - all make it really important for the Russia investigation.

Putin described Kiev is the mother of Russian cities. These - the Russian people view Ukraine as an extension of Russia. And so there is a sense that Putin really will do whatever it takes, even in the face of overwhelming, diplomatic, and economic pressure to defend what he sees as Russia's vital interest. And I think when we're trying to understand what's going on in Ukraine we have to keep that in mind. This isn't a simple case of Putin agitating for a fight.

Hillary Clinton is seen as a joke. If Putin wanted anybody to win the 2016 election, it would have been Hillary Clinton, because with Hillary Putin is closer to where he wants to get than ever. It would be like a continuation of Obama, who was totally deferential to Putin.

If Russia's interests and security are threatened, Russia will resist. Everyone needs to know that.

Vladimir Putin knows exactly what he wants from the relationship with USA. In return for good relations, he wants lifting of sanctions, ratification, approval of his wars in Ukraine and Syria, and his dream of dreams, an acknowledgment of his sphere of influence in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.

Putin never wanted all of Ukraine. He wanted for historical purposes to take Crimea. He did. Then he wanted a part of Ukraine that he could always use to advance Russian interests. And he is now at a point where nobody in the West is shouting, hey, stop. Give us back Crimea. It's all accepted. And so he has won.

There is a huge expanse of flat land that Napoleonic France, imperial Germany, and Nazi Germany all crossed to strike at Russia itself, Ukraine serves as a buffer state of enormous strategic importance to Russia. No Russian leader would tolerate a military alliance that was Moscow’s mortal enemy until recently moving into Ukraine. Nor would any Russian leader stand idly by while the West helped install a government there that was determined to integrate Ukraine into the West.

Fighting the terrorists in Syria is not only in the interest of Syria or the Syrian people; in the interest of the Middle East, of Europe itself - something that many officials in the West don't see or don't realize or don't acknowledge - and in the interest of the Russian people, because they have been facing terrorists for decades now.

Obviously, you have the DNC engaged in communication with lots of different parties, and anything you can use to gain intelligence about what's going on in the U.S. political system and what the candidates are thinking is of high interest to Russian intelligence.

I think in Russia's case, they want to have a Ukraine that is pro-Russian, Russia-friendly, a government they can work with. And yet, by invading the country and taking part of the territory, they've produced a more nationalist, more Western-oriented, more unified Ukraine than ever existed before.

If our interests - our legitimate interests, the interests of Russians - have been attacked directly, like they were in South Ossetia, for example, I do not see any other way but to respond in accordance with international law.

Russia has a long-term interest in Syria. Israel by and large does not have an issue with those long-term interests that Russia has in Syria. Israel has an issue with an Iranian regime that is trying to establish this land bridge, and that openly calls and actively works for Israel's destruction. And if you ask a hundred Israelis what they want to see in Syria, you're going to get 150 answers.