West’s Crackdown on Sovereign States is 'New Colonialism' — Russian Security Council

Nikolay Patrushev recalled that recently there was another anniversary of the first French nuclear tests on Algerian soil (held in February 1960)

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. The strategy of strangling sovereign states that the West is now resorting to is essentially a revival of the old methods of colonialism, the Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolay Patrushev told the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily during a visit to Algeria.

"The West’s strategy of strangling sovereign states is nothing but the revival of the old methods of colonialism, which collapsed in the middle of the 20th century, largely thanks to the efforts of the Soviet Union. The Algerian people were one of the first to rid themselves of the colonial yoke and set a successful example of the struggle for their freedom. The Algerians know better than anybody else: whatever disguise colonialism may use, it always brings evil," Patrushev said.

He recalled that recently there was another anniversary of the first French nuclear tests on Algerian soil (held in February 1960).

"Hundreds of thousands of Algerians are still suffering from the effects of dozens of nuclear explosions. I believe that we jointly need to urge the world community to remember these and other similar events, because there is no statute of limitations for such crimes," Patrushev emphasized.

He believes that it is the policy of the West that has made Africa and the Middle East one of the most unstable "hot" spots on the globe.

"We see the consequences of the West’s gross interference in the affairs of the region even today. In North Africa and the Middle East, there remain the hotbeds of tension they created, such as, for example, those in Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and other countries. Which, in turn, contributes to the spread of terrorism and weapon and drug trafficking," he stated.