Former President Barack Obama said “the danger was always there” with Russian President Vladimir Putin – although he once rejected the threat posed by Moscow during the 2012 presidential campaign. “Putin has always been ruthless against his own people, as well as others. He has always been wrapped up in this distorted, distorted sense of grievance and ethnic nationalism,” Obama said in an exclusive interview with NBC Today. . is to be broadcast in full on Wednesday. Obama added: “This part of Putin, I think he has always been there. What we have seen with the invasion of Ukraine is that he is reckless in a way you might not have expected eight, ten years ago, but you know, the danger was always there. ». “Today” presenter Al Rocker had asked the 44th president if Putin is now the same Russian leader that Obama had to deal with during his two terms as chief of staff. Obama’s response was very different from when he mocked former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during his last presidential debate in 2012. “A few months ago, when you were asked what the biggest geopolitical threat America is facing, you said Russia. Not Al Qaeda. You said Russia,” Obama told Romney at the time. “And the 1980s are now calling for a reversal of their foreign policy because the Cold War is over for 20 years.” Romney, now a U.S. senator from Utah, said in an interview with Atlantic in February that it was “hard for me to believe” that Obama “did not realize I was right at the time, because it was so obvious.” “Russia has supported all the dictators in the world, whether in Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea. It opposed us at the UN every time a critical measure was taken. It was our geopolitical adversary,” Romney said. “There is no doubt in my mind that we have been naive as a nation for the last two decades about Russia’s intentions and Putin’s plans.” Putin, who launched his unprovoked war against Ukraine almost seven weeks ago, invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 with the help of Moscow-backed separatists, while Obama was president. During an interview with Today, Rocker also asked Obama, “Do you ever think, ‘Could I have done something different?’ when it came time for the Crimea. Obama replied: “You know, the situations in each of these circumstances are different, but I think what we are constantly seeing is a reminder of why it is so important for us not to take our democracy for granted, because it is so important for to support and align with those who believe in freedom and independence, and I think the current government is doing what it needs to do. “ In addition to invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea in 2014, Russia began supporting guerrillas in a war against Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region that same year. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been met with sanctions by the Obama administration and has escalated tensions between Moscow and Washington. Russia also interfered in the US elections in 2016, further eroding ties. The Russian military’s involvement in the Syrian civil war and its support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad have also contributed to the controversy. The latest Russian invasion of Ukraine, in addition to years of deteriorating relations, has provoked the worst US-Russian crisis since the Cold War. The United States and its allies have imposed historic economic sanctions on Russia, including personal sanctions against Putin, while stepping up military aid to Ukraine and strengthening NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe. Russia has become an outsider on the world stage, with world leaders – including President Joe Biden – accusing Putin of war crimes.
