It was unwise of Moscow to impose its will on its Eastern European allies, the Russian president has said
The Soviet Union’s decision to send its troops into allied Hungary and Czechoslovakia several decades ago was ill-judged, Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted, adding that those incursions ran counter to the interests of the people of those countries.
Speaking at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Tuesday, the Russian leader was asked to address criticism from the West accusing Moscow of colonialism over its decision to deploy tanks to Budapest in 1956 and Prague in 1968 to quell popular unrest.
“We have long admitted that this element of the Soviet policy was a mistake that only led to strained relations. One should not do anything in foreign policy that obviously contradicts the interests of other nations,” Putin said.
The president went on to note that the leading Western countries, including the…