The Russian leader buried the old world order and laid out his vision for the future of Russia and the world, in key speech
New centers of power have emerged, the unipolar world order is not returning and the “colonial” way of thinking has failed, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday, in what the Kremlin called a “Extremely important” word.
The old world order is gone with the wind “messengers of God on earth”, with interests that should be considered sacred and without any obligations, Putin told the SPIEF audience. New centers of power have since emerged and have the right to protect their own systems, economic models and sovereignty.“truly revolutionary and tectonic changes in geopolitics, the world economy, in the technological sphere, in the whole system of international relations”, are “fundamental, essential and inexorable,” Putin said. “And it is a mistake to suggest that one can wait for times of turbulent change and things will return to normal; that everything will be as before. It won’t.”
Anti-Russian sanctions backfire on the West When the United States and its allies launched the campaign to “to cancel” Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, they hoped to collapse and undermine the Russian economy and society. Rather, the sanctions have had a boomerang effect on their creators, worsening social and economic problems, driving up the cost of food, electricity and fuel, and damaging the quality of life throughout the West, but above all in Europe.“The European Union has completely lost its political sovereignty, and its bureaucratic elites are dancing to someone else’s tune, accepting whatever they are told from above, causing harm to their own people and to their own economy, says Putin.“Decisions removed from reality and taken against common sense”, he added, as direct losses from sanctions alone could exceed $400 billion in a year.
Energy prices and inflation are self-inflicted Blaming Russia for High Energy Prices and Inflation in the West – “Putin’s Price Rise” as the White House said – is a “stupidity” and “designed for people who cannot read or write” said the Russian president.“ Don’t blame us, blame yourself. says Putin.“believing blindly in renewable sources” and the abandonment of long-term natural gas contracts with Russia led to soaring energy prices last year, according to the Russian leader. Meanwhile, the United States and the EU have dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic by printing trillions of dollars and euros.
‘Elite change’ awaits the West The policies undertaken by European and American leaders exacerbate inequalities and divisions in their societies, not only in terms of well-being, but in terms of the values and orientations of various groups, Putin said.“Such a detachment from reality, from the demands of society, will inevitably lead to a rise in populism and the growth of radical movements, to serious social and economic changes, to degradation and, in the near future, to a change elites, said the Russian leader.
If there is a famine, it will not be Russia’s fault
US and European sanctions against Russia – especially fertilizer and grain exports – are one of the reasons for growing global food insecurity, Putin pointed out. If there is famine in the poorest countries of the world, “It will be entirely on the conscience of the American administration and the European bureaucracy.”
Food supply problems have emerged in recent years – not months – due to the “short-sighted actions of those who are accustomed to solving their problems at someone else’s expense”, distort trade flows by printing money in some sort of “predatory colonial policy”, says Putin.
Russia is ready to send food to Africa and the Middle East, where the threat of famine is most acute, but must face “logistics, finance, transport” obstacles imposed by the West, he said.
The reasons for the Ukrainian conflict “simply impossible to conclude new agreements with them”, says Putin. The decision was “Forced, but necessary” because Russia had every right, as a sovereign country, to defend its security and to protect its citizens and residents of Donbass against “genocide by the kyiv regime and neo-Nazis who received the full protection of the West.”
The West has spent years turning Ukraine into a “anti-Russia” state and pumping it with weapons and military advisers, Putin said, stressing that they “didn’t care” of the Ukrainian economy or the lives of its people, but “spared no expense to create a NATO foothold in the east, directed against Russia, to cultivate aggression, hatred and Russophobia.”
“All the objectives of the special military operation will be achieved unconditionally,” he added. says Putin.
Economic development is an expression of sovereignty
In the 21st century, sovereignty cannot be partial, Putin argued. All its elements are equally important and complement each other, and the economy is one of them. There are five key principles that Russia will follow when it comes to economic development: openness, freedom, social justice, infrastructure, and technological sovereignty.
Russia will “never follow the path of self-isolation and autarky”, but will expand interactions with all who wish to trade, Putin said, adding that there are “many of these countries.” Moscow will also support private enterprise, build and repair its transport infrastructure, seek to reduce social inequality and ensure that its key technologies are not dependent on foreign imports.
“Truly sovereign states are always committed to equal partnerships,” while “those who are weak and dependent, as a rule, are busy looking for enemies, sowing xenophobia, or ultimately losing their originality, independence, blindly following the overlord”, he said.
