“It was at a certain stage (you might have forgotten, haven't you?) that the United States actively collaborated with Saddam when he was at war with Iran: weapons were supplied, diplomatic and political support was provided and so on. Then the US fell out with him for some reason and decided to do away with him.” WarStatesReasonMightPoliticalCertainUnitedUnited StatesSupportStageHavensWeaponsDecidedForgottenIranSaddamDiplomatic Author:Vladimir Putin
“When Saddam Hussein was eliminated, the Iraqi statehood and thousands of people from the former Baath party were also eliminated. Thousands of Iraqi servicemen, who were part of the state's Sunni elite, found themselves thrown out into the street. No one gave a thought about them, and today they end up in the ISIS army.” PeopleEndsStatesTodayFoundPartyStreetsArmyFormerThrownElitesSaddamHusseinIsisServicemen Author:Vladimir Putin
“I think that all countries of the region should join their efforts in the fight against a common threat - terrorism in general and ISIS in particular. It concerns Iran as well, it concerns Saudi Arabia (although the two countries do not get along very well, ISIS threatens both of them), it concerns Jordan, it concerns Turkey (in spite of certain problems regarding the Kurdish issue), and, in my opinion, everybody is interested in resolving the situation. Our task is to join these efforts to fight against a common enemy.” ThinkingShouldWellsTwoCountryProblemCertainFightingCommonEffortSituationOpinionEnemyIssuesParticularConcernTasksThreatTerrorismSpiteRegionsIranTurkeysIsisJordanArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisTwo CountriesCommon EnemyKurdish Author:Vladimir Putin
“I am proud of Russia and I am sure that the vast majority of Russian citizens have great love and respect for their Motherland. We have much to be proud of: Russian culture and Russian history. We have every reason to believe in the future of our country. But we have no obsession that Russia must be a super power in the international arena. The only thing we do is protecting our vital interests.” BelieveCountryReasonCultureInterestProudCitizensMajorityInternationalRussiaObsessionOur CountryBe ProudArenaGreat LoveLove And RespectMotherlandRussian HistorySuper Power Author:Vladimir Putin
“Nuclear weapons and other weapons are the means to protect our sovereignty and legitimate interests, not the means to behave aggressively or to fulfil some non-existent imperial ambitions.” MeanInterestProtectAmbitionWeaponsNuclearBehaveNuclear WeaponsSovereignty Author:Vladimir Putin
“President Obama and I can meet, shake hands and discuss current issues, we - and I am personally - are always ready for such contacts.” I CanHandsPresidentIssuesReadyCurrentsContactShakesPresident Obama Author:Vladimir Putin
“I have called President Obama, and President Obama called me on various issues. This is part of our regular contacts, there is nothing unusual or extraordinary about it.” PresidentIssuesExtraordinaryVariousContactUnusualPresident Obama Author:Vladimir Putin
“The UN platform was created precisely for this, to seek compromise, to communicate with one another. So it will definitely be nice if we make use of this platform.” IfsUseNiceCommunicateCompromisePlatformsBeing Nice Author:Vladimir Putin
“I do not think I am entitled to assess the President of the United States. This is up to the American people.” PeopleThinkingStatesPresidentUnitedUnited StatesEntitled Author:Vladimir Putin
“We have good personal relationship with President Obama, our relations are quite frank and business-like. And this is quite enough to do our job.” EnoughJobsPresidentRelationPresident ObamaFrankGood PersonPersonal Relationships Author:Vladimir Putin