The West is Collapsing, Too Weak to Wage a War Against Russia Even if They Wanted To
Karen Shakhnazarov, director, People's artist of Russia: Regarding the right question you've asked, there are no rules and there won't be. That's it. We must understand that we're stepping into a reality of such policies and such rules. In a sense, we're living in a unique time. History told us about the collapse of the Roman Empire. We read about it happening 2000 years ago. We're witnessing the same situation today but this time, the West is collapsing. And it's understandable: For 20 years, they had been enjoying their unrestricted supremacy with their worst rival defeated seemingly forever. They could do everything they pleased like destroying Yugoslavia or dealing with rebellious Serbia. And that's what they did. They took Montenegro and Kosovo from Serbia and practically reduced it to dust. They could completely destroy the Middle East. All countries that had even a tiny bit of political independence like Iraq, Libya, even Egypt. Egypt basically lost its independence it still exists but it's not the country it could and, I hope, will become. Syria or other countries were reformed as they pleased. And suddenly it's over. It's understandable but it won't do. Suddenly, something was defeated, doomed, and completely destroyed appears again. Suddenly, the same thing appears in the East and lays claims. It's understandable but difficult to accept. But the main thing is that previously the West could solve this issue by military means a few times and tried to do that during the times of Napoleon, during the times of Hitler. The Crimean War could also serve as an example. Today, it can't be done by military means.
And secondly, the heroic era of the West is over. They aren't ready to wage war. It's over. And that's one of the reasons why the Roman Empire collapsed. Just like that. Because in terms of economy even in times of its fall, the Empire was far superior compared to the rest of the world. And yet it didn't help. So I believe this situation... We say that a multi-polar world is forming. It is. But one of the poles just doesn't want to accept it. And it won't. It will continue waging this war with no rules. Thankfully, there's a positive side. They're trying threatening us with war. First, history teaches us that no war follows the expulsion of diplomats.
- And the second point is coming right after a small commercial break.
- OK, I've been talking about war threats. If we look at our history we'll see that nobody gets expelled when there's a war coming. No wars follow a mass expulsion of diplomats. There's another point I'd like to stress. We observe some kind of unity among the allies of the US. However, their opinions on Iran differ because the US is considering terminating the nuclear deal with Iran and its allies are against this decision. Why? Because it could actually result in a war. They aren't going to wage war against Russia, so it's fine but Iran could actually fight back. I hope it won't though. But the allies are acting differently in this case.
So I've been thinking about what we can do. Why's the situation dangerous? It's dangerous because some mundane-level conflicts might arise. Because everything has its consequences. The Russophobia you've mentioned has its consequences. Real people pilot aircraft and control submarines there. They read newspapers, they listen to the media. They could press one button and it'll be over. In this context, the Russian government requires endurance that it's already demonstrating today. And secondly, it needs to observe the situation without succumbing to panic. At the same time, it must be relentless in defending its interests. Because some experts are already saying that we have to do something.
Now, Nikolai Vasilyevich is saying the same thing. Nikolai, what do we have to do? I don't seem to get it. Be rational. Their press-secretary calls our country a sea monster. What are we supposed to do? How shall we act?
Sergey Mikheev, political analyst: Please, don't give the floor to Nikolai, he could go on for days.
- So I think only the West could take some steps. But they won't calm down until they drink the cup to the dregs. And it's bound to drink it. There are no brakes on the historical train. It's important that this historical process doesn't result in a conflict that will trigger a war. I hope it won't happen.
- But it seems we’ve got the means to at least discover the truth. The OPCW developed a mandatory protocol.
Sergey Mikheev: Do they follow it?
- No, they don't. And we say: "Guys, come on, let's follow the international protocol." And Britain is all like: "Why would we? We know best." That's why we doubt whether there are any rules in this game. The deadly toxic agent was supposed to kill hordes of enemies but a tough Russian girl survived. Of course, I'm happy that Ms. Skripal has regained consciousness and her condition is quickly improving. But it makes us doubt the everything said by the British.
- Russians are vaccinated, Vladimir Rudolfovich.
- Every Russian, except GRU colonels. It would explain his critical condition. Dmitry Konstantinovich has shown us the article by Boris Johnson about the dead cat thrown at the table as a distraction. It seems Boris Johnson is using the very same strategy. Just think about it: People are trying to establish a coalition there's no court decision nothing's been settled yet the investigation hasn't given its verdict but they're already blaming Putin. That's just rude.
By the way, Nikolai Vasilyevich, the West never mentions the Israeli point of view. Israel didn't expel Russian diplomats. Israel reacted sharply. And we know that Israel and its Mossad always mean business. They would have said something if they had any information.
Nikolai Zlobin, political analyst: Well, Israel gets involved in the conflicts of major countries if it doesn't benefit from it.
- Israel is known for having a special opinion on Great Britain. It would never get involved in something it's not sure about out of pure solidarity.
- Many countries didn't get involved.
- We don't have much time left.
Karen Shakhnazarov: I'd like to add a couple of words. We have one thing in common — we both have nobody to speak to. It's our common feature. That makes it different from that Cold War. The thing is at that time we could talk to the Western political leaders. But what do we see now? What's happening in the US? Even if we do arrange a meeting with Trump how can we talk to him? One day, he announces that the US is to suddenly leave Syria. The other day, he says he'll meet Putin. But nothing happens. Can we talk to the Senate? No. Congress perhaps? No. I'm becoming more and more convinced that American political analysts are right and the US is run by the finance oligarchs the people who control the Federal Reserve System. And there's no way we could talk to them. Politics don't bother them. But they are the ones who make the main political decisions. That's the issue of the contemporary world. That's the one.