ROME, November 22. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent statements are fully in line with his long-standing policy centered on ensuring national security, Tiberio Graziani, Chairman at the Vision and Global Trends International Institute for Global Analyses, told TASS.

"In his address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin, as usual, unequivocally pointed to real and actual facts. If there is one thing that Western commentators, as well as the leaders of the key countries of the so-called collective West, seem to overlook, it’s the Kremlin’s consistency, especially its clear policy in terms of existential threats and the way Russia sees them," the expert said.

Putin’s position can be traced back to his 2007 address at the Munich Security Conference, Graziani says. "But for 17 years, the West has not only been reluctant to listen, that is, make an agreement in order to build a common regional security architecture, but on the contrary, it has contributed to the current geopolitical chaos by insisting on NATO’s expansion. This situation, which has been made worse by ATACMS missile attacks and Russia’s retaliation, is no longer just a regional issue," he noted.

The expert warned that "the chaos may drag everyone into the abyss of a severe global confrontation" unless the parties returned to the negotiating table.

Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out on November 21 that US-and UK-made missiles had targeted military facilities in the Kursk and Bryansk regions following a move by the US and its NATO allies to authorize the use of their long-range weapons for strikes against Russia. According to Putin, in retaliation to the tracks, Russia for the first time used its newest Oreshnik non-nuclear intermediate-range ballistic missiles against Ukraine’s Yuzhmash defense industry facility in the city of Dnepr (formerly Dnepropetrovsk). The Russian leader emphasized that the West could face dire consequences if its provocative policy escalated the conflict further.