SAINT-PETERSBURG, June 24. /TASS/. As Ukraine is controlled from the outside, it makes no sense to hold talks with them, only with those who are pulling the strings, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.
He also compared Western sanctions to piracy, essentially the "redistribution of someone else's property."
TASS has compiled the key statements made by the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council.
West’s ‘destructive ambitions’
Attempts to hold biased tribunals against the Russian state could trigger a war: "In the worst-case scenario, the implementation of such decisions could lead to war. In the literal sense of the word."
Western countries used Georgia against Russia in 2008, but "they did not satisfy their bloodlust, and they learned from their mistakes."
"Whether Western countries like Russia, Iran, or any other country does not matter to us. However, the threat of a global war as a result of such provocative actions increases dramatically."
It is important to "curb the destructive ambitions" of Western opponents and "restore the balance of power in the world."
Helping compatriots abroad
A special law has been enacted that "allows the use of military force to rescue Russian citizens who are being unlawfully detained abroad."
Russia will use "all available judicial mechanisms" against unfriendly countries that discriminate against Russian-speakers.
Russia will soon file a complaint with the International Court of Justice against the Baltic countries for discrimination and gross violations of the rights of Russian-speaking people: "The pre-trial phase was completed at the end of May this year. Accordingly, complaints will be filed with the International Court of Justice."
Western military bases
The deployment of Western military bases in foreign territories has become a significant factor undermining the collective security system and eroding the sovereignty of states: "They are, frankly, provoking international and regional tensions."
The Middle East conflict has demonstrated that Western military bases "do not help" the country that hosts them, and do not provide any protection: "On the contrary, they make them targets for counter-military attacks."
NATO bases should be replaced by regional security organizations that act in the interests of their region, rather than "the Western country that hosts the bases."
The Ukrainian conflict
Moscow will meticulously maintain a register of crimes committed by the Kiev regime and unfriendly states: "It’s our obligation to maintain it, and we will do so meticulously."
Holding a dialogue with the Kiev regime on equal terms when it depends on external sponsors doesn’t make sense: "There is no point in communicating with a vassal. If there is anything to discuss, it should be discussed with the suzerain, the master."
Kiev has "rented out the country to external forces for a military foothold" for a very large sum of money.
Vladimir Zelensky's term as president expired a long time ago, meaning he doesn’t enjoy any of the protections of that office: "The president's chair has been usurped by an individual whose authority has long expired, and according to international law, this fact deprives him of any immunity."
The West has done everything to keep Kiev’s Bickford fuze smoldering for as long as possible.
The fight against neo-colonialism
Russia's fight against the Kiev regime and its patrons has set a precedent and demonstrated to the world the failure and weakness of the neo-colonial minority.
"Developing countries have repeatedly demonstrated that they can defeat arrogant Western mentors in the areas that they consider to be their own."
Colonialism should be designated under the law as a separate crime against humanity: "This measure is timely and will establish the responsibility of Western countries for the exploitation of enslaved peoples."
The spirit of NATO
The spirit of North Atlantic unity quickly evaporates when it comes to real combat: "When it comes to real combat, the spirit of North Atlantic unity evaporates very quickly. And then the US president gets offended that he wasn't helped."
Nazism and racism
The modern West carefully preserves the traditions of segregation and racism that existed in antiquity: "The current, today's West, is a diligent student of history. It is enough to recall the recent comments of Europeans, the talk about dividing the world into blooming gardens and jungles, into the right democracies and authoritarian regimes that need to be suppressed by force."
Western elites retain the ideas of racial and national superiority: "And today, reading the great lines of the UN charter, there is no need to have illusions. Over the decades, the beautiful text has failed to eradicate the ideas of racial and national superiority from the minds of Western elites."
Nazism, which was not defeated during World War II, "found fertile ground among its ideological and, frankly, direct biological descendants, some of whom are currently at the helm of European politics."
The "ideology of the civilizational superiority of the Western first" is clearly demonstrated in the international human rights agenda: "The value of human rights, as is well known, is often elevated to a cult, but at the same time the West reserves the monopoly right to decide which country meets the standards and which does not."
The neocolonialism of the IMF and the World Bank
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank engage in neo-colonial racketeering by providing loans to the countries at "enslaving terms: The country gets buried in a mounting debt, from which there is no way out without new enslaving tranches and new enslaving loans. At the same time, the blame for such problems is cynically shifted to the victim, who was formally free and sovereign in making such decisions and accepting these loans."
The ECHR's policy
The European Court of Human Rights "condemns Russia without any evidence," but does not see discrimination in the Russophobic policies of Latvia and Ukraine.
The standards that the West has prepared are used as a basis, and the well-known principle of "friends get everything, enemies get the law" is applied.
Modern piracy
The West's sanctions policy is a redivision of other people's property, including piracy: "No matter how beautifully it is explained, this is a redivision of other people's property - a pirate seizure of ships, cargo, and foreign assets of countries, including our own."
Russia has "prepared measures" in case its assets are seized abroad.
Crisis in international law
Since the beginning of 2026, the world has encountered challenges in international law that test the resilience of the law and all lawyers devoted to their duty: "To put it bluntly, since the beginning of this year, our civilization and humanity have faced such serious challenges in this area that they are testing the strength of not only the law itself, but also all lawyers doing their due diligence."
The current crisis of international law institutions is largely due to the desire to turn it into a privilege for the first.
The Hamlet-like question of the existence of international law is facing all of humanity after the actual collapse of the legal figment of the sovereign equality of all states: "We are forced to ask ourselves an almost Hamlet-like question: 'Should international law exist?' And if it should exist, what meaning should we put into it?"
The West, having chosen the path of political dictatorship, has trampled and destroyed the international law that it so vehemently defended: "The Europeans have again undermined the fundamental principles of international law, which they are so eager to defend.".