MOSCOW. June 13 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the ongoing special military operation is exactly a response to crossing the so-called red lines regarding Russia's security and national interests.
When asked by military correspondents as to why the Russian side does not respond to the crossing of the red lines by the collective West, the president said, "Isn't conducting a special military operation itself a response to crossing the red lines? This is the most important thing."
"We have reiterated this many times: you shouldn't do that, let's do it this way, we are ready for talks, they finally prompted us so that the war that they started in 2014, we tried to end by military means," Putin said.
It is the collective West, but not Russia that is an aggressor, he said. "When they told us - here, you started the war, here is Putin who is an aggressor. No, they are the aggressors, they started this war, and we are trying to put an end to it, but we have to do this with the assistance of the Armed Forces. Isn't this a response to crossing certain red lines?" the president said.
"And the strike on the Ukrainian energy system - isn't this a response to crossing the red lines? And the actual destruction of the headquarters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Main Intelligence Directorate near Kiev - isn't that a response? It is a response! We will continue to work selectively, we will not do as these morons do - they are hitting civilian facilities, residential neighborhoods, we will not do that, but we will continue to respond selectively," the president said.