Russian President Vladimir Putin (RIA Novosti / Alexey Nikolsky)

The coup d’état in Ukraine is a worrying example of growing neo-Nazi tendencies in Eastern Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a Serbian newspaper. He stressed that “open manifestations” of neo-Nazism are also commonplace in Baltic states.

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MORE: Putin: Russia’s isolation is ‘absurd and illusory goal’

“Regrettably, in some European countries the Nazi virus
‘vaccine’ created at the Nuremberg Tribunal is losing its effect.
This is clearly demonstrated by open manifestations of neo-Nazism
that have already become commonplace in Latvia and other Baltic
states,” Putin told Politika newspaper ahead of his visit to
Serbia. “The situation in
Ukraine, where nationalists and other radical groups provoked an
anti-constitutional coup d’état in February, causes particular
concern in this respect.”

Below is the full text
of the interview.

Politika:You are coming to Belgrade to take
part in the celebrations commemorating the 70th anniversary of
the city’s liberation from occupation by Nazi Germany. Why, in
your view, are such commemoration events important today?

Vladimir Putin: First of all, I would like to
thank the Serbian leadership for the invitation to visit Serbia
and take part in the celebrations commemorating the 70th
anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from occupation by Nazi
Germany.

We are truly grateful to our Serbian friends for the way they
treasure the memory of the Soviet soldiers who fought together
with the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia against Hitler’s
occupation troops. During World War II, over 31,000 Red Army
officers and soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing on the
territory of former Yugoslavia. About 6,000 Soviet citizens
fought against the invaders in the ranks of the National
Liberation Army. Their courage brought our common victory over
Nazism closer and will always be remembered by our peoples as an
example of bravery, unyielding determination and selfless service
to one’s homeland.

It is hard to overestimate the importance of the upcoming events.
Seventy years ago, our nations joined forces to defeat the
criminal ideology of hatred for humanity, which threatened the
very existence of our civilization. And today it’s also important
that people in different countries and on different continents
remember what terrible consequences may result from the belief in
one’s exceptionality, attempts to achieve dubious geopolitical
goals, no matter by what means, and disregard for basic norms of
law and morality. We must do everything in our power to prevent
such tragedies in the future.

Regrettably, in some European countries the Nazi virus “vaccine”
created at the Nuremberg Tribunal is losing its effect. This is
clearly demonstrated by open manifestations of neo-Nazism that
have already become commonplace in Latvia and other Baltic
states. The situation in Ukraine, where nationalists and other
radical groups provoked an anti-constitutional coup d’état in
February, causes particular concern in this respect.

Today, it is our shared duty to combat the glorification of
Nazism. We must firmly oppose the attempts to revise the results
of WWII and consistently combat any forms and manifestations of
racism, xenophobia, aggressive nationalism and chauvinism.

I am sure that the anniversary celebrations in Belgrade, which
are to become another manifestation of the sincere friendship
between our nations based on the feelings of mutual affinity and
respect, on spiritual kinship, on brotherhood in arms in the
years of WWII, will also contribute to addressing these
challenges. We hope that the preservation of historical memory
will continue to help us strengthen peace, stability and welfare
of the common European space together.

Politika:How do you see the Russian-Serbian
relations today? What has been achieved during the past 20 years
and what future trends in the interaction between the two
countries do you foresee?

Vladimir Putin: Serbia has always been and still
is one of Russia’s key partners in southeastern Europe. Our
nations are united by centuries-long traditions of friendship and
fruitful cooperation. Their development is fostered by common
interests in such spheres as politics, the economy, culture and
many others.

Today, Russian-Serbian relations are on the rise. In 2013,
President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic and I signed the Interstate
Declaration on Strategic Partnership, reaffirming our shared
intention to promote large-scale collaboration in all key areas.

We have maintained active political contacts to discuss relevant
bilateral and international issues in the spirit of confidence
and agree on joint practical steps. Our governments cooperate
closely within the United Nations, OSCE, the Council of Europe
and many other organizations.

We are satisfied with the consistent progress in our economic
relations bolstered by the existing free trade regime between our
countries. In 2013, our mutual trade grew by 15 percent amounting
to $1.97 billion, and, in the first six months of 2014, it
increased by another 16.5 percent to $1.2 billion. We expect it
to reach $2 billion by the end of this year.

A positive trend continues in the field of investment as well.
The total amount of Russian investments in Serbia has exceeded $3
billion. Most of these funds have been invested in the
strategically-important energy industry. One example of
successful cooperation is the energy giant Petroleum Industry of
Serbia, which has turned from a loss-making enterprise into a
major contributor to the Serbian state budget. The South Stream
project will provide Serbia with more than 2 billion euro in new
investments and significantly strengthen the country’s energy
security.

Serbia’s rail infrastructure is being rebuilt and upgraded with
the participation of the Russian Railways and our support in the
form of loans.

I am pleased to see Serbian businesses play an active part in the
promising Russian market. For example, they supply high-quality
agricultural and industrial products.

I would like to note another important area of our bilateral
cooperation. In recent years, the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian
Centre in Nis has taken part in disaster response operations in
the Balkans on several occasions. Last May, Russian rescuers
helped to evacuate people during a severe flood. Russian
Emergencies Ministry aircraft made several flights to deliver
more than 140 tonnes in humanitarian aid to Serbia.

The growing mutual interest of Russian and Serbian people in our
countries’ history and culture is also evidence of deepening
humanitarian relations. This autumn, Serbia is hosting Days of
Russian Spiritual Culture with great success. The central event
is the exhibition titled Russia and Serbia. History of Spiritual
Connections, 14th-19th Century. We plan to expand cultural,
educational, scientific and youth exchanges, and to promote
tourism and sports events.

I am confident that my upcoming visit to Belgrade will give a new
boost to the traditionally friendly Russian-Serbian relations,
which will continue to grow and strengthen from year to year.

Politika:There is currently a great deal of
speculation regarding the possible reduction in the supplies of
Russian gas to Europe because of Ukraine’s debt. Should European
consumers get ready for a cold winter? What about the future of
the South Stream project, which is of great interest to
Serbia?

Vladimir Putin: First of all, I would like to
stress that Russia is meeting its obligations in full with regard
to gas supplies to European consumers. We intend to further
deepen our cooperation with the EU in the energy sector, where we
are natural partners, on a transparent and predictable basis.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, we have successfully
implemented a number of major projects together with our European
partners. This includes the Nord Stream pipeline, which is an
important factor in minimizing transit risks and ensuring
uninterrupted gas supplies to Europe. Over recent months, Gazprom
has been actively increasing gas reserves in European underground
gas storage facilities. These measures are aimed to prevent
transit disruptions and meet peak demand in winter.

Naturally, we are aware of the risks generated by the Ukrainian
crisis. We were forced to interrupt gas supplies to Ukraine last
June because the Kiev authorities refused to pay for gas supplies
they had already received. In late summer and early autumn, we
held a series of consultations in a three-party format with the
participation of Russia, the EU and Ukraine, where we discussed
possible mutually-acceptable solutions to the problem of the
Ukrainian gas debt settlement, resumption of gas supplies to
Ukraine – which had been stopped by the Ukrainian side itself –
and continuous hydrocarbon transit to Europe. We are ready to
continue constructive talks on these issues.

As for the future of Russian gas exports to Europe, the problem
of transit across the Ukrainian territory remains. One of the
more obvious solutions might be to diversify the delivery routes.
In this regard, we hope that the European Commission will finally
make a decision in the nearest future about the use of the OPAL
gas pipeline at full capacity.

In addition, we need to resolve the deadlock concerning the South
Stream. We are convinced that this project will significantly
contribute to integrated energy security in Europe. It will
benefit everybody, Russia as well as European consumers,
including Serbia.

Politika:In your opinion, what is the
ultimate objective of the sanctions against Russia, imposed by
the EU and the United States? How long will they last, in your
view, and how much harm can they do to Russia?

Vladimir Putin: This question should be
addressed to the EU and the United States, whose reasoning is
hard to understand. Any unbiased person knows that it was not
Russia who staged the coup d’état in Ukraine, which led to the
grave internal political crisis and a split in society. An
unconstitutional seizure of power was the starting point for the
subsequent events, including the ones in Crimea. The people of
Crimea, seeing the complexity and unpredictability of the
situation and in order to protect their rights to their native
language, culture and history, decided to hold a referendum in
full compliance with the UN Charter, as a result of which the
peninsula re-joined Russia.

Our partners should be well aware that attempts to put pressure
on Russia with unilateral and illegitimate restrictive measures
will not bring about a settlement, but rather impede the
dialogue. How can we talk about de-escalation in Ukraine while
the decisions on new sanctions are introduced almost
simultaneously with the agreements on the peace process? If the
main goal is to isolate our country, it’s an absurd and illusory
goal. It is obviously impossible to achieve it, but the economic
health of Europe and the world can be seriously undermined.

With regard to the duration of the restriction measures, it also
depends on the United States and the European Union. For our
part, we will adopt a balanced approach to assessing the risks
and impact of the sanctions and respond to them proceeding from
our national interests. It is obvious that the decline in mutual
confidence is bound to have a negative impact on both the
international business climate in general and on the operation of
European and American companies in Russia, bearing in mind that
such companies will find it difficult to recover from
reputational damage. In addition, it will make other countries
think carefully whether it is wise to invest their funds in the
American banking system and increase their dependence on economic
cooperation with the United States.

Politika:What do you think the future holds
for Russian-Ukrainian relations? Will the United States and
Russia re-establish a strategic partnership after all that has
happened, or will they build their relations in a different
way?

Vladimir Putin: As for Russia, its relations
with Ukraine have always played and will continue to play a very
important role. Our nations are inextricably linked by common
spiritual, cultural and civilizational roots. We were part of a
single state for centuries, and that huge historical experience
and millions of intertwined fates cannot be dismissed or
forgotten.

Despite the current difficult stage in Russian-Ukrainian
relations, we are interested in progressive, equitable and
mutually-beneficial cooperation with our Ukrainian partners. In
practice, this will become possible after sustainable peace and
stability are achieved in Ukraine. Therefore, we hope to see an
end to the protracted deep political and economic crisis.

Today, there is a real opportunity to end the armed
confrontation, which actually amounts to a civil war. The first
steps in this direction have already been made. It is vital to
start a real intra-Ukrainian dialogue as soon as possible
involving representatives from all the regions and political
forces. This approach was documented in the Geneva Statement of
April 17. Such a nationwide dialogue must focus on Ukraine’s
constitutional structure and the future of the country, where all
the citizens with no exception will live comfortably and in
safety.

As for Russian-US ties, our aim has always been to build open
partnership relations with the United States. In return, however,
we have seen various reservations and attempts to interfere in
our domestic affairs.

Everything that has happened since the beginning of this year is
even more disturbing. Washington actively supported the Maidan
protests, and when its Kiev henchmen antagonized a large part of
Ukraine through rabid nationalism and plunged the country into a
civil war, it blamed Russia for provoking the crisis.

Now President Barack Obama in his speech at the UN General
Assembly named the “Russian aggression in Europe” as one
of the three major threats facing humanity today alongside with
the deadly Ebola virus and the Islamic State. Together with the
sanctions against entire sectors of our economy, this approach
can be called nothing but hostile.

The United States went so far as to declare the suspension of our
cooperation in space exploration and nuclear energy. They also
suspended the activity of the Russia-US Bilateral Presidential
Commission established in 2009, which comprised 21 working groups
dedicated, among other things, to combating terrorism and drug
trafficking.

At the same time, this is not the first downturn in relations
between our countries. We hope that our partners will realize the
futility of attempts to blackmail Russia and remember what
consequences discord between major nuclear powers could bring for
strategic stability. For our part, we are ready to develop
constructive cooperation based on the principles of equality and
genuine respect for each others’ interests.