Putin: 'If a country is unable to make sovereign decisions, it is already a colony to some extent.'

Russian President Vladimir Putin is confident that in the modern world, states can either be sovereign or colonies, with no intermediate status existing. This was reported by TASS.

"The world is changing and changing rapidly. In order to aspire to some form of leadership, not to mention global leadership, any country, any nation, any ethnic group must secure its sovereignty," the head of state stated during a meeting with young entrepreneurs on Thursday.

"Because there is no intermediate state: a country is either sovereign or a colony, however you might call the colony," he explained.

"If a country or a group of countries cannot make sovereign decisions, they are already a colony to some extent, and colonies have no historical prospects, no opportunities to survive in such a harsh geopolitical struggle," he said.

Putin noted that he does not wish to name specific countries “so as not to offend anyone,” but added that geopolitical struggles have always existed.