Putin accuses West of ‘recklessness beyond any bounds’

No one can guarantee that continued escalation won’t lead to nuclear war, the Russian president has warned

The world is teetering on the brink of a catastrophe, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday. The US and its allies have grown reckless in their attempts to retain global dominance and no one can be sure that nuclear weapons will not be used at some point in the future, he told the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi.

Calls by Western nations to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia – which possesses the biggest nuclear arsenal – demonstrate the “recklessness of the Western politicians that goes beyond all bounds,” Putin said, referring to the stance some Western leaders have taken on the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, in which the US and its allies have actively supported Ukraine.

“Blind faith in their own impunity and exceptionalism could lead to a global tragedy,” the Russian leader warned. According to Putin, the “old hegemons” that got used to ruling over the world still seek to impose their will on the rest of humanity.

“Attempts to retain their elusive power through the use of force only lead to global instability, rising tensions, casualties and destruction,” Putin warned. Humanity already possesses weapons that could ensure “mutual destruction,” with the number of nuclear powers growing, he added.

Read more

“No one can guarantee that… [those weapons] won’t be used” if tensions grow exponentially and all the moral and legal foundations of international relations are destroyed, the president said.

Putin then called on Western nations to accept their role as one of the “key elements” of a just multipolar world and abandon hegemonistic aspirations, adding that a policy of force will not help them achieve the “absolute power” Western elites are seeking.

Russia does not treat the West as its enemy and would be ready to cooperate once a genuinely equal and just international world order is built, the president said.

Putin’s comments came during a plenary session at the 21st Annual Meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi this week. The topic of the session is ‘Security for Everyone. Together – Into a New World’. This year’s event is taking place under the motto ‘A Lasting Peace – On What Basis? Universal Security and Equal Opportunities for Development in the 21st Century’.