On Thursday, September 3, in Sochi, the final plenary session of the XVI meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club was held. The presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and the Philippines, as well as the king of Jordan took part in it. Note that before the event, Vladimir Putin held separate meetings with Ilham Aliyev, Kasym-Zhomart Tokaev, Rodrigo Duterte and Abdullah II.
About Russia
Russia is a civilization country that has absorbed many traditions and cultures, has preserved their uniqueness, but has preserved the unity of peoples, said Vladimir Putin. According to him, the state is very proud and cherished of this fact.
“It is obvious to us that diversity within the state is the norm. She teaches both patience and tolerance, ”he added.
At the same time, the president recalled that in the 1990s, Russia went through "one of the most difficult periods in its history." Then the country not only tried to cope with the most acute internal political, economic, social crises, but was also attacked by international terrorists.
“Russia came to a very dangerous line then, behind which the worst could happen for any people, for any nation and country - the collapse and collapse of the state. This threat hung in the air and for the most part people felt it. We could then, of course, be absolutely real, plunge into the abyss of a large-scale civil war, lose state unity and sovereignty and find ourselves on the periphery of world politics. And only thanks to exceptional patriotism, courage, rare patience and hard work of the Russian people and other peoples of Russia, our country was moved away from this dangerous line, ”Putin stated.
World Order and Security
During the welcoming speech, the Russian leader paid special attention to the world order, which, in his opinion, should maintain its systematic nature. According to him, countries need to act together, "stepping over stereotypes and geopolitical patterns" to solve problems at the global level.
“Each has its own objective interests, which do not always coincide with the interests of others, this is also obvious. But there is a sense of shared responsibility. Finally, I hope that, in fact, I have no doubt that there is common sense and a desire for security, ”said Vladimir Putin.
According to him, the destruction of the world order, based on the key role of international law, "is fraught with global catastrophes for almost all of humanity." Russia fully fulfills its duties as one of the guarantors of the existing world order, the head of state added.
Asia's growing influence
Strengthening the position of Asian states is noticeable in all areas, Putin stated, adding that this region already accounts for more than a third of the global gross product. In this regard, the head of state called fair the desire of Asian countries to play a more significant role in world politics and economics.
“At one time, the so-called awakening of Asia, the national and cultural revival of the countries of the region played a huge role in the democratization of international relations. And today it is obvious that global problems without Asia are simply impossible to solve. Of course, you can try to do this by inertia and old memory. But the legitimacy, and most importantly, the practical meaning, value of such decisions, claiming to be global and universal, is very doubtful, ”the president added.
The Russian leader emphasized that, by and large, it was the Asian states that made the world a multipolar one.
Syria and the Persian Gulf
Speaking about the situation in Syria, Vladimir Putin noted that a number of foreign partners tried to counteract the settlement of the conflict in the SAR. Moreover, not everyone believed that the operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Arab Republic would lead to a positive result. However, according to the president, Russia managed to defeat the "terrorist international" and prevent the penetration into other countries of the world, including Russia, of thousands of "armed thugs."
According to Putin, it was possible to do in Syria what was difficult to imagine a few years ago: to launch the intra-Syrian political process, combining the efforts of many states “with very different emotions in relation to each other”.
“In our opinion, the Syrian settlement can become a kind of model for resolving regional crises, and in the vast majority of cases it will be the diplomatic mechanisms that work. The use of force here is an extremely forced exception, ”the president added.
In addition, the Russian side proposes to create an organization for security and cooperation in the Persian Gulf, which, in addition to regional countries, will include the Russian Federation, China, the USA, the EU, India and other interested states. According to the head of state, it is necessary to set aside mutual claims and start from scratch.
USA - DPRK
Donald Trump took a historic step by starting the negotiation process with DPRK President Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin said. He pointed out that the predecessors of the 45th US president for decades ignored Pyongyang, making him an "outcast."
According to the Russian president, the rejection of “habitual crude rhetoric” gave hope for a peaceful settlement on the Korean peninsula.
“Of course, we see that there are many unsolved problems ahead and a long way ahead,” the Russian leader emphasized.
China
Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to Vladimir Putin, is a world-class politician. At the same time, the Russian leader noted that they had really friendly relations with their Chinese counterpart. At the same time, he pointed out that the countries are working on a positive agenda, in the interests of each other, and it never happened that Russia and China “were friends” against some third state.
The President of Russia noted that Moscow is helping Beijing in creating a missile attack warning system, which will dramatically increase the defense capability of China. At the moment, only the Russian Federation and the United States have SPRN.
Putin also stated that “contain China” is impossible. Such attempts will only harm the initiators of these measures, he added.
“I consider such a possible development of events to be destructive and harmful, and the combination of efforts to create an environment of friendly cooperation and the search for common security systems for all is what we should do together,” Putin explained.
USA and INF Treaty
The security situation in the world continues to deteriorate due to US actions, including the withdrawal of Washington from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles. Vladimir Putin once again recalled that Moscow would not deploy such weapons in those regions where there are no similar systems in other countries. However, neither the United States nor Europe reacted to this initiative.
“He said five times. No one reacts. Neither in the USA did not react, nor in Europe. It’s as if they are deaf, they don’t hear, ”the president said.
- kremlin.ru
He also noted that the root cause of the US withdrawal from the INF Treaty is Asia, and not “mystical violations” by Moscow, since it is in this region that the Americans intend to deploy the first weapons that violate the treaty. At the same time, the Russian side will respond in an adequate and mirror-like manner.
Putin also noted that the United States actually admitted to violating the INF Treaty by testing medium-range missiles less than three weeks after withdrawing from the treaty.
“If only I don’t know, there was a longer pause. It’s clear that we were fooled or tried to fool. Then they themselves admitted this, ”Putin said.
He also pointed out incorrect statements by the American side about the launchers of the Aegis system, which are supposedly not suitable for launching previously banned rockets.
“We have been told all the time that Aegis systems cannot be used to launch ground-based medium-range missiles. Aegis, which are now already in Europe - in Romania, will soon be in Poland. They said that no, it’s impossible to use, and then they themselves announced that the Aegis launch systems were used to launch these medium-range missiles, ”the head of state added.
Ukraine
Vladimir Putin said that he believes in the sincerity of the desire of the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky to resolve the situation in the Donbass. According to him, if the Ukrainian leader has enough strength and “political courage” to complete the process, despite the existing resistance within the country, he will prove himself to be an “honest and courageous politician.”
“But now we see certain fluctuations. This is inevitable, he must seek some kind of compromise, he must agree with all members of society, with all the people, no matter what views they hold. But still, he must fulfill his election promises given to the majority, ”Putin said.
Answering the question that Ukraine is being put on Russian television in an unsightly light, the president indicated that even state-owned channels pursue an independent editorial policy, but it’s wrong to expose the fraternal people “in an unfavorable light”.
“We should not expose our neighbor, our closest neighbor and brotherly people, without exaggeration, in some kind of disadvantageous light. We can talk about the policies of the current authorities, but not about the country, nor about the people. If you interpret it this way, it means that something is missing in our programs, they should always emphasize this, ”the head of state explained.
About historical fraud
Vladimir Putin called the “top of cynicism” appearing in media reports that the responsibility for unleashing the Great Patriotic War lies not only with Adolf Hitler, but also with Joseph Stalin. In September, the European Parliament adopted a resolution in which the reason for the outbreak of World War II is called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
The Russian leader recalled that it was Nazi Germany that attacked the Soviet Union in the morning of June 22, 1941, and not vice versa. Moreover, it was on the Eastern Front that the most numerous fascist forces were concentrated.
“For some reason they are trying to mix, hide, pervert. It seems to me that the threat is one thing: the threat is that the main thing can be lost in the process of these frauds - people can stop being afraid of the recurrence of such tragedies, ”Putin added.
He also urged not to forget that the troops of the Soviet Union stormed Berlin.
“And now all sorts of conjectures are now about the contribution to the fight against fascism of certain countries. I just said: the losses of the Soviet Union amounted to 25-27 million people, the losses of the USA - half a million people, and the losses of Great Britain, in my opinion, in general 350-400 thousand people, ”the president stated.