A Russian television host has suggested Europe’s borders could be redrawn and said the continent is unlikely to exist for much longer.
Russian propagandist and Kremlin mouthpiece Vladimir Solovyov speculated on whether Europe would continue to exist in its current form and questioned “whether the Ukrainian nation should exist” in his latest monologue broadcast on state-run TV show The Evening with Vladimir Solovyov.
“I think we have entered an era of colossal geopolitical changes,” Solovyov said in a clip posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Russian media monitor Julia Davis. “All sorts of accidental formations incapable of their own statehood may not survive this era.”
He elaborated: “By that, I mean the Baltic states and all of Europe. I don’t think that the European borders in their current configuration will continue to exist much longer. I don’t see any reason why they would.”
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Solovyov is a frequent critic of the West and NATO in particular, echoing the longstanding opinion of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He also questioned the existence of Ukraine “in its current state,” saying: “A nation whose ideology presents a threat to us cannot exist next to us.”
He went on to say that Putin will “liberate” Ukraine, something he has touted on several occasions since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022.
“At least, I would like it to happen,” he said. “I think that within a certain time period, it definitely has to happen.”
Meanwhile in Russia: Vladimir Solovyov called Girkin [Strelkov] a traitor, complained of antisemitism, said that Ukraine should not exist as a nation and predicted that the borders of European countries will be redrawn in a major geopolitical reshuffling.https://t.co/DCeL0J2XKf
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) November 30, 2023
An ally of Putin, Solovyov frequently makes comments about the eradication of Ukraine and the dismantling of its Western allies. He recently speculated on whether Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, which is one of the founding NATO members, should be a part of Russia.
“The Portuguese would live just as fine as part of the Russian empire,” he said while speaking with a co-host on Russia 1.
He also made comments claiming Russia should take the U.S. states of California and Hawaii while in conversation with Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of state-controlled media organization RT.
Solovyov has also touted using Russia’s nuclear weapons as the solution to a potential conflict with NATO countries.
He said: “NATO guys, are you really cretins? Do you honestly think that we, with all our gigantic stockpile of strategic and tactical nuclear weapons, will listen to [those opposed to the use of nuclear weapons], who always say, ‘No, stop it’? We won’t even ask them.”
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.