Putin dismisses claims Russia is behind European unrest, blames it on the “incompetence” of European leaders
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- 2026-10-26 01:13:23
- Updated
- 2026-10-26 01:13:23
[Financial News] Russian President Vladimir Putin flatly rejected suspicions that Russia was behind the large-scale protests and unrest sweeping across Europe, including France, Italy and Spain, and blamed the situation on the incompetence of European leaders.
■ “Claims Russia is behind the unrest are baseless... Leaders desperate to evade responsibility”
According to foreign media, including Interfax, on the 25th (local time), President Putin dismissed the claim in an interview that day with Russia’s state-run broadcaster Vesti, saying, “The claim that we are encouraging protests in major European cities is clearly over the line.” It was a public rebuttal to foreign media reports that European Union (EU) authorities were examining the possibility that outside actors, including Russia, had exploited the protests to spread disinformation and incite riots.
He criticized claims, raised in some quarters of Europe, that outside forces were involved, saying they “only show the weakness of European leaders and their lack of ability to take responsibility for what is happening now.” He went on: “They are not trying to analyze the situation or look for its causes; they are simply busy shifting the blame to someone else.” He added pointedly: “At first they blamed the U.S. administration, and now, in their customary fashion, they are blaming Russia again.”
■ “The real causes are economic hardship and failed immigration policies”
President Putin cited economic factors, including excessive public debt and fiscal deficits in European countries, as the real causes of the current unrest in Europe. He also claimed that failed immigration policies had caused social tensions to erupt.
He described the current situation as “the migration crisis itself,” saying, “There are so many people coming from other countries that assimilation is impossible, and countries also lack the resources and ability to assimilate them.” He also argued that Europe cannot instill its language and customs in immigrants because “they [Europeans] are destroying their own traditions themselves.”
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