Myanmar on Monday extended support to the Russian military operations against Ukraine, calling it necessary to preserve the sovereignty of Russia.
"First, in my opinion, in the situation with Ukraine, Russia is taking the necessary actions to preserve and strengthen its own sovereignty. Second, Russia, as a great power, ensures the balance of world forces, which allows maintaining world peace," a spokesperson for the Myanmar military Major General Zaw Min Tun was quoted as saying.
He expressed hope that Russia will be able to uproot "modern colonialism," pointing out that the US is moving closer to the Russian borders in order to undermine Russia's sovereignty.
"...the situation around Ukraine is not a problem of the two countries. The President, the government and the people of Russia were obliged to respond to the emerging geopolitical situation in the world, where Ukraine was only one of the links," Zaw Min Tun said as quoted by Sputnik.
The comments come a few days after Russian President Vladimir Putin in an address to the nation, recognised the Ukrainian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics and announced "special military operations" in the region.
The Russian actions have faced immense criticism, especially from the Western countries. A number of countries, including the US, the UK, Germany and France, among others have announced fresh rounds of sanctions on Russian individuals and financial institutions.
Zaw Min Tun emphasized that the actions of the Russian leadership are aimed at protecting national interests and demonstrating the unity of the Russian people.
"President Vladimir Putin, the Russian government and the people there have demonstrated to the world that they have a broader vision of world political problems and that Russia can and must protect its national interests and unity," the spokesperson said.
Zaw Min Tun recalled how Western countries had financed opposition forces in Myanmar and said that the current Ukraine crisis was caused by unwillingness on the part of the US to provide Russia with security guarantees.
"Today, Ukraine fully follows the policy and ideology of the bloc of Western countries. This situation resulted in Russia rightly putting forward its demands for its own security, but we saw that America did not respond to them and continued to act contrary to the fair solution of problems. We are seeing the consequences of this right now," the spokesperson said.
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