Putin predicts the EU will collapse on its own; commentary says the key is whether Russian agencies will cater to this expectation
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At the Valdai Club annual meeting in early October 2026, Putin responded to questions about Russia-EU relations by stating that the EU will collapse on its own without any action from Russia, while he had previously explicitly called for abandoning wishful thinking and conducting realistic assessments. Commentator Andrew Korybko stated that the core significance of this prediction is not whether Putin himself truly believes in this judgment, but whether the Russian Foreign Ministry and intelligence agencies will politicize the assessment of the EU collapse scenario to cater to his expectations. If such behavior occurs, it will violate the realistic assessment requirements previously proposed by Putin, potentially leading to mistakes in Russia's EU policy and harming Russian interests.
AI-generated from reports · 32 min agoUpdated
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- ZeroHedgeWhat is the real significance of Putin's recent prediction that the European Union will inevitably disintegrate?
Putin predicted at the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club that the European Union would disintegrate on its own. The core significance lies not in whether he personally truly believes this judgment, but in whether the Russian Foreign Ministry and intelligence agencies will politicize the assessment of this scenario to cater to his expectations. Such behavior would contradict Putin's previous requirement to abandon wishful thinking and conduct realistic assessments, potentially leading to policy missteps toward Europe and harming Russia's interests.
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