Vladimir Putin accuses the West of creating a “new iron curtain”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the West of creating a “new iron curtain” with Russia, more than a year and a half after the start of the Russian assault against Ukraine, which provoked a shower of sanctions on Moscow.

“It is not us who are closing the door. It is Europe which is closing the door (…) A new iron curtain is being created. It is not us who are creating it, this are the Europeans,” Vladimir Putin declared at the Valdai international forum in Russia.

The Russian president also assured that his country’s mission was to build “a new world”, castigating Western “hegemony” and placing the assault in Ukraine in this perspective and not that of a “territorial conflict”.

“We are essentially faced with the task of building a new world,” declared Vladimir Putin during the Valdai political forum in Russia, denouncing the “arrogance” of Westerners since the fall of the USSR.