President Vladimir Putin told Russia's lawmakers and citizens that his government is planning to forge new alliances with non-Western nations, NBC News reported.
Putin made the announcement during the Annual Address to the Federal Assembly held on Dec. 4.
According to the president, his decision to seek new allies is in response to the diplomatic isolation that Russia is currently experiencing. Due to Russia's ongoing conflict with Ukraine over the annexation of Crimea, the United States. along with other NATO members have imposed sanctions on the country.
Despite the pressure from other nations, Putin remained steadfast at the St. George Hall of the Kremlin as he talked about expanding Russia ties with other nations.
"Our goal is to have as many equal partners as possible, both in the West and in the East," Putin said in his speech.
"We will expand our presence in those regions where integration is on the rise, where politics is not mixed with economy, and where obstacles to trade, to exchange of technology and investment and to the free movement of people are lifted," Putin added.
The Russian president mentioned that he has no plans of severing the country's relationship with Western nations such as the U.S. and the U.K. Instead, he will expand it to include South American, the Middle East and Asian countries.
"Under no conditions will we curtail our relations with Europe or America," he said. "At the same time, we will restore and expand our traditional ties with South America. We will continue our cooperation with Africa and the Middle East."
Putin noted that even if Russia did not go through with the acquisition of Crimea, other nations will still act against the country to impede its development.
"I want to point this out specifically for you as politicians sitting in this auditorium," he said. "If none of that had ever happened, they would have come up with some other excuse to try to contain Russia's growing capabilities, affect our country in some way, or even take advantage of it."
