Putin for Answers to NATO and Respect for Will of Crimea

Moscow, Nov 21 (Prensa Latina) Russian President Vladimir Putin made a call today to respect the will of the people of Crimea by proclaiming their sovereignty, and explained the reasons for applying countermeasures to the encroachment of NATO on the country''s borders.

Putin stated that the world has changed and that in no way can everything ''be kept in a state of freezing as it had in the Cold War. We must look to the future,'' said the statesman, according to an early version of the film Ukraine in Flames, by Oliver Stone. We have the impression that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) calls for the fabrication of the image of an external enemy such as Russia to achieve discipline and subordination among its members, he warned.

The president expressed concern about the decision-making process within NATO, as it almost always rests on the United States and the rest follow directions.

Referring to the March 2014 referendum in the Crimea, where more than 95 percent of its citizens spoke out on the secession from Ukraine and the accession, Putin stressed the need to respect the will of the people of the peninsula.

'In no way can international law and democratic principles be adapted to the convenience of a specific country and its national interests,' he said, in clear reference to the United States.

'Democracy is based on the will of the people and that is achieved now through elections,' said the statesman.

Putin also considered that the Ukrainian people, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, suffered a systematic robbery by the leadership, regardless of who was in charge of the country.