US treats ‘masochist’ allies like enemies – Putin

US dictates are backed by brute force, “the law of the fist,” Putin said, adding that any state that aspires to genuine sovereignty is declared an enemy and subjected to “deterrence,” ringed with military bases and alliances, or sanctioned. “When they are displeased, they introduce sanctions against their allies as well – against this or that bank or company. This is their practice and they will expand it. They have everything in their sights.”
In launching the “sanctions blitzkrieg” against Russia, the West was blinded by its own “wishful thinking,” believing the world would fall in line at its command – but as it turned out, the orders only excited “complete political masochists and admirers of other unconventional forms of international relations,” the president said.

While he did not name the “political masochists,” earlier in the speech, Putin noted that the US “actually continues to occupy Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and other countries, which they cynically refer to as equals and allies,” while spying on the homes and offices of their leaders, calling it “a disgrace for those who do this and for those who, like slaves, silently and meekly swallow this arrogant behavior.”
The dictatorship of Western elites “targets all societies, including the citizens of Western countries themselves.” He noted that politicians in Europe now “have to convince their fellow citizens to eat less, take a shower less often and dress warmer at home,” while declaring anyone who dares to ask why a radical and extremist, falsely pointing to Russia as the culprit.