MOSCOW, March 8. /TASS/. The crisis in Ukraine arose from Western countries’ support for the coup in Kiev, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Vesti correspondent Pavel Zarubin.
"After all, where did the Ukrainian crisis come from? It arose from Western countries’ support for the coup in Ukraine, and then the events in Crimea, and then in the southeast of Ukraine — Donbass and Novorossiya as a whole. This is where it all began. This is where everything started," the president stressed.
"One could say that everything happening now [in Ukraine] is undoubtedly a mistake, first and foremost by Western countries. A systemic mistake," he added.
The Kiev regime is manipulating European countries, Putin said, describing such interaction with the phrase "the tail wagging the dog." "The situation is very strange. Because I get the impression that we are dealing with a case that is called ‘the tail wagging the dog,’ rather than the other way around," he said in an interview with Vesti journalist Pavel Zarubin.
Meanwhile, Putin believes that Western countries are now reaping in Ukraine what they sowed. The Russian leader noted that the Ukrainian crisis arose from Western countries’ support for the coup in Kiev. "This is where it all began. This is where everything started. These are not our actions — these are the actions of Western countries, including European countries. They are now reaping what they sowed," the head of state said.
At the same time, the situation on global energy markets has escalated to the limit. "The situation on global markets <…> has escalated to the limit," the president stressed.