Russia must respond “in full” to the West’s actions – Medvedev

Russia must give full-scale response to the West’s actions and, if necessary, launch preemptive strikes, the head of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev told TASS.

Medvedev emphasized that the West has "not only treachery in its blood, but also a sick, very outdated view of its own superiority." "We must behave accordingly. Respond in full. And if necessary, launch preemptive strikes," he added.

Dmitry Medvedev recalled the violation by the Soviet Union’s onetime allies in the anti-Hitler coalition of the decisions of the Potsdam Conference, adding that Russia has learned its lessons and no longer has any illusions about its relations with the West.

Earlier, in an interview with the magazine Novye Regiony (New Regions), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia's coexistence with its Western neighbors would largely depend on their willingness to admit and correct their mistakes.

"I think the main lesson is as follows: in the main issues of the country's life, we must rely only on ourselves, as well as on trusted friends who stayed with us in the hour of trials. As for coexistence with Western neighbors, much will depend on their behavior, willingness to admit and correct the mistakes made, including abandoning the maniacal desire to inflict a strategic defeat on our country," he noted.

Adding that the past three years had become a "moment of truth," Sergei Lavrov recalled that after the start of the Special Military Operation to protect the people of Donbass and Novorossiya, the "collective West" showed its true face and supported the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv.

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