Putin raps US, EU envoys at Kremlin ceremomy, blames West for degraded ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday berated ambassadors of the United States and the European Union at a ceremony in Kremlin, blaming their countries for a dramatic deterioration in relations with Moscow.

At a televised ceremony in the Kremlin, the Russian leader censured the ambassadors, among 17 who formally presented their diplomatic credentials, in blunt language.

Putin told the new American Ambassador Lynne Tracy that Washington's support for a revolution in Ukraine back in 2014 had purportedly led to the current war in the ex-Soviet republic, warning that relations were in "a deep crisis" that was "based on fundamentally different approaches to the formation of the modern world order."

"Dear Madam Ambassador, I know you may not agree, but I cannot but say that the United States' use ... of such tools as support for the so-called 'color revolutions', support in this regard for the coup in Kiev in 2014, ultimately led to today's Ukrainian crisis," the Russian president said.

Back in 2014, the two regions of Donetsk and Luhansk (collectively called Donbas), which are dominated by ethnic Russians, broke away from Ukraine, established self-declared republics, and refused to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government there that had overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration after weeks of street protests.

Moscow launched a full-scale military operation in February last year on Ukraine, claiming to defend the pro-Russian population in the Donbas region against persecution by Kiev, and also to "de-Nazify" its neighbor.

Moscow said that it was forced to launch the war to stem what it calls Western interference that was becoming a threat to its security.

Over the past year, the US and its NATO allies have supplied a large cache of advanced military equipment to Ukraine, despite Moscow's repeated warnings, bringing their ties with Russia to a record low in the post-Cold War era.

US, Russia on brink of direct war as NATO arms transfers to Ukraine escalate: American media

A Washington-based think tank warns that the NATO military alliance and the United States are "creeping closer to the catastrophic scenario" in Ukraine, threatening a direct war between Moscow and Washington.

Addressing the new EU Ambassador Roland Galharague, Putin said "the European Union initiated a geopolitical confrontation with Russia."

“We perceive as the cause the fact that the EU has discarded its original mission of developing economic cooperation and integration on the European continent and initiated a geopolitical confrontation with Russia,” the Russian president stated.

Moscow hopes that “all the actions that damage our relations would be left in the past,” arguing that turning the page would benefit “both Russia and the economies of this organization’s member states,” he said.

The Russian president also urged Denmark to support Moscow's proposal to establish an independent international commission to probe into sabotage attacks that ruptured the Nord Stream underwater pipelines.

The pipelines, which connect Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, were hit by unexplained explosions in September last year in what Moscow called an act of "international terrorism." Swedish and other European investigators say the blasts were caused by deliberate attacks.

In his opening remarks, Putin said despite the complex situation in the world, Russia was open to constructive partnership with every country across the globe and would not isolate itself.

"The situation in the world right now is complicated; a lot of controversies have accumulated that sometimes feel irreconcilable and hinder normal, productive cooperation between states. But still, we would like to hope that the work of your embassies will contribute to the development of cooperation between our countries," he stated.

"Rest assured that all your initiatives and proposals that follow this course will be met with support both from Russian authorities and our business and public circles."

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