MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. The West is responsible for the breakup of Yugoslavia, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a board meeting of the Defense Ministry.

"[Western countries] ultimately tore apart Yugoslavia and the Serbs, they tore them apart," Putin said, stressing that "ripped a single nation into shreds."

The president noted that nothing that was created in the post-war period worked in relations with the West.

"Everything started to deteriorate very quickly, all these rules and the UN charter began to be ignored. The events in Yugoslavia - where was the UN charter, the use of force? We've talked about this many times, but it's a fact," he continued. "[In the West] they just did as they pleased. We stepped in, forced them to vote - well, we didn't succeed - they didn't care.".