Vladimir Putin said this Thursday, in an annual speech at the Russian think tank Valdai Club, that the period of “absolute dominance” of the West is “coming to an end”.
The Russian president even said the next decade might be the most “critical” and “dangerous” since World War II. “The West is incapable of governing unilaterally… no matter how hard it tries,” he stressed.
The Kremlin leader says Russia is trying to “defend its right to exist” in the face of Western efforts to “destroy the country”.
“Russia is not challenging the elites of the West, Russia is only trying to defend its right to exist”he said, accusing the West of “wiping Russia off the political map” and “dangerous, bloody and dirty” in Ukraine.
At an event where he answered questions from the public, Putin called his parents – his mother, who was a nurse, and his father, who was a night watchman – and says he hears the “pulse of popular life, as ordinary citizens live”. “. . .
When asked what has changed in the world in the past year, the Russian president said there are “tectonic changes of the entire world order”. “What is happening in Ukraine in particular are not changes that have been going on since the start of the special military operation, these are changes that have been happening for many years. Some are paying attention. These are tectonic changes of the whole world order.” In the beginning everything is very calm and very peaceful, but these plates are in constant motion, then they get closer, the tensions rise and an earthquake occurs. This is what is happening here. First a build-up of tensions and then an earthquake. used voltages in the past will happen. New centers of power are emerging and these changes are happening for objective reasons.”he explained.
Still talking about what he calls a military operation in Ukraine, Putin says he constantly thinks about the Russian soldiers killed in the neighboring country, but Moscow had no choice but to invade Ukrainian territory. “We had to decide what to do with Donbass because the people have been under attack for eight years. We had to recognize its independence,” he shot, stating that the “next logical step” would be the annexation of the region into the Russian Federation. . .
The Russian president says that “when there are nuclear weapons, there is always a danger of being used”, but that he never spoke “proactively” about their “possible use”.
The Kremlin leader called NATO expansion “unacceptable”, claimed Kiev had refused to abide by the Minsk accords and said the West fueled the war in Ukraine, escalated provocations in Taiwan and damaged global food and energy markets. destabilized.
Putin, however, reiterated that Russia is not an enemy of the West. “The dialogue between Russia, the West and other centers of development will become more important in the new world order. We have tried to establish friendly relations with the West and NATO, but the West imposes sanctions on those who do not want to be under it. check”he accused, and guarantees that Russia does not want world hegemony.
“Russia does not challenge the West – Russia wants to reserve the right to develop. The new world order must be based on law and order”continued.
The military offensive launched by Russia on February 24 in Ukraine has already resulted in more than 13 million people fleeing — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.7 million to European countries — according to the latest data from the UN, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – by Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the generality of the international community, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions. submit to Russia.
As confirmed since the start of the war, which entered its 246th day this Thursday, the UN presented 6,374 civilians dead and 9,776 injured, stressing that these numbers are far below the real one.
Source: DN
