Russian leader spoke at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
QUICK FACTS:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday.
- Putin said that the time of the “unipolar world order” has come to an end despite international attempts to keep it in place.
- The Russian leader told listeners that speakers at the Davos Forum last year made a similar statement about world leadership: “A year and a half ago, when speaking at the Davos Forum, it was stressed again that the era of the unipolar world order was over,” the Russian head of state said going on to note that he also would like to begin his address with this, “there is no getting around this.
- “It’s a one-sided game. A world based on such dogmas is definitely unstable,” the Russian president concluded.
PUTIN’S COMMENTS IN PART:
- “[This era] is over despite all the attempts to revive it and hold on to it at any cost,” Putin said. This is a natural process, these changes are a natural course of history because it is difficult to combine the planet’s civilizational diversity, the wealth of cultures with political, economic and other models. These models don’t work here, the models that bluntly, without any alternatives, are being imposed upon from one center,” he added.
- According to Putin, “the flaw lies in the very idea where there is a single, albeit strong power with a limited circle of close states, or, as they also say, those admitted to it, while all the rules of business and international relations, when necessary, are interpreted exclusively in the interests of this power, that is, it’s a one-way street.”
BACKGROUND:
- Putin led Russia into an all-out conflict with Ukraine, beginning in late February of this year, which has continued into the summer months.
- The Western response to Putin’s actions has included aggressive sanctions on the massive nation, something the Russian leader has lashed out against as “mad and thoughtless.”
