The Russian president covered a wide range of topics at a packed event in Sochi on Thursday
Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a session of the annual Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday. The Russian leader delivered a keynote speech, took part in a panel discussion, and answered questions from the audience.
Over the course of nearly four hours, Putin touched on a wide range of issues, including the conflict in Ukraine, the evolution of global politics, ties with the US, and what he described as the decline of Western civilization.
Multipolar world as a response to Western hegemony
The world is undergoing “rapid and drastic changes,” Putin said, adding that it is “easy to get lost” in a model where nothing is truly “determined.”
The rise of a multipolar world is a natural response to the heavy-handed policies of the West, he argued.
“Multipolarity has become a direct consequence of attempts to establish and preserve global hegemony, a response by the international system and history itself to the obsessive desire to arrange everyone into a single hierarchy, with Western countries at the top. The failure of such an endeavor was only a matter of time,” he stated.
Erosion of democracy
Putin insisted that the very concept of democracy is deteriorating in the West.
“Democratic electoral procedures have been turned into farce, attempts to manipulate the will of the people – it won’t work. We’ve seen this in Romania, for example… It happens in many countries,” he said.
In 2024, Romania’s top court annulled the results of the presidential election, citing fraud and foreign meddling, while frontrunner Calin Georgescu was barred from participating in the rerun.
Putin also said institutions such as the OSCE have become politicized and biased, while the EU is no longer the “powerful civilizational center” it once was.
The West should focus on its own problems
Putin dismissed claims that Russia intends to attack the EU or NATO, saying politicians who promote this are either “grossly incompetent” or “crooked” and lying to their citizens.
“Honestly, all I want to say is: Relax, sleep well, or address your own issues,” Putin said, urging the EU to focus on migration and economic problems instead.
Russia can’t afford to be weak
History shows that weakness is not an option for Russia, Putin argued. For some, he said, “it creates temptation, an illusion that disagreements with us can be resolved through force.”
He argued that the Ukraine conflict has transformed the Russian army into one of the most combat-ready forces in the world, with the ability to “rapidly adapt” to challenges.
“If we’re at war with the entire NATO bloc… we have to be confident in ourselves, and we are confident,” Putin said.
Asked about France’s seizure of an oil tanker allegedly belonging to the supposed ‘Russian shadow fleet’ used to bypass sanctions, Putin compared it to piracy. He downplayed the incident as an attempt to distract voters from domestic issues.
“What do you do with pirates? You destroy them. What else should be done to pirates? This doesn’t mean a war will break out across the world’s oceans tomorrow, but the risk of collisions will certainly increase sharply and significantly,” Putin said.
Not a paper tiger
Putin rejected US President Donald Trump’s recent description of Russia as a “paper tiger,” suggesting Trump may have been speaking ironically. He stressed that the Russian army has been steadily making gains and inflicting heavy casualties on Ukrainian troops.
“What’s next? Well, in that case, go and confront this paper tiger. But, as you can see, the reality on the ground is different,” he said.
Putin claimed that Ukraine lost nearly 45,000 soldiers in September alone, adding that Russia is de facto “at war with the whole of NATO.” At the same time, he praised Trump for being willing to listen to Russia’s arguments during negotiations.
Tomahawks would not tip the scale
Putin warned that the delivery of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine would not change the course of the conflict, but would further escalate tensions with the US.
Although some Western media outlets suggested that Trump was considering providing the missiles, Reuters reported on Thursday that shipments are unlikely since the US has none to spare.
The delivery of these weapons would mark “a new stage of escalation,” Putin said, arguing that Ukraine cannot operate them without direct US military involvement.
Murder of Charlie Kirk shows rift in US society
Putin expressed condolences to the family of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated by a sniper last month in Utah.
The “despicable crime” was “a sign of a deep rift in society,” the Russian leader said.
The Russian leader spoke at length about the Ukraine conflict and tensions with the West
Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the annual Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday.
He delivered a keynote address before taking questions from an audience of experts and diplomats.
The Russian leader shared his thoughts on world politics, the economy, ties with China, tensions with the West, and the situation on the front line in Ukraine.
The US president may have used the term “ironically,” the Russian leader has said
US President Donald Trump’s recent description of Russia as a “paper tiger” may have been used “ironically,” President Vladimir Putin has conjectured.
Responding to a humorous suggestion by Valdai Discussion Club host Fyodor Lukyanov that the Russian president should give his US counterpart a literal paper tiger as a gift, Putin said: “No, we have our own relations; we know what gifts to present each other.”
“I don’t know the context in which this [comment] was made – maybe it was made ironically,” he added.
Trump made the remark in a post on his Truth Social platform in September, after a meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. In an apparent shift in rhetoric, the US president referred to Russia as a “paper tiger,” arguing that it had failed to defeat Ukraine in three and a half years. He also suggested that Kiev is “in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back,” as long as the EU and NATO continue to support it.
Contrary to the US president’s comment, the Russian military has been steadily advancing on the front lines for months. Moscow’s forces had taken control of 4,700 square kilometers and 205 settlements this year, Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov reported in late September.
”Go ahead and take on this paper tiger,” Putin joked.
Michael Gloss had secretly enlisted in the Russian military and was killed in Donbass last year
Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised US national Michael Gloss, who was killed in action in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) while fighting alongside Russian troops in April 2024.
Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday, Putin acknowledged that he “was quite surprised” when he learned about Gloss, who happened to be the son of CIA Deputy Director Juliane Gallina. According to the Russian president, he became acquainted with the details during the process of the posthumous decoration of the fallen American fighter.
“[Gloss] had undergone special training and was enlisted not simply into the armed forces, but into the elite units of the Russian armed forces, into the Airborne,” Putin revealed. He noted that the 21-year-old US national “was fighting on the front line. He fought with dignity.”
The Russian president described Gloss as a “brave person,” adding that his compatriots can be proud of the fallen soldier.
“And just imagine, a young man, 22 years old, while bleeding out himself, tried to give aid to his Russian comrade, another wounded soldier. Unfortunately, they were spotted by a Ukrainian drone, which dropped an 82-millimeter mortar round on them, and both were killed,” Putin said.
In August, CNN reported that US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had delivered a Russian medal from Putin to Gloss’s mother after meeting with the Russian president in Moscow for talks earlier in the month.
Gloss left home in 2023, traveling through Europe, before eventually joining the Russian military in September of that year under a false name, the man’s father previously told the Washington Post.
According to the Russian death certificate given to his family, Gloss was killed on April 4, 2024, during an assault on fortified Ukrainian positions near Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic. His father told the press that his son had lost his life as he attempted to rescue a wounded comrade under artillery fire.
Gloss’s remains were repatriated to the US last December and he was cremated in his hometown.
The Soviet Union imposed its system on others, and it didn’t last, the president reminded
Russian President Vladimir Putin has drawn a parallel between the Soviet Union and the present-day US and EU, accusing them of imposing their own political systems on other countries.
Speaking at a plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday, the president suggested that political systems which force their own values on others don’t last.
“The Soviet Union once erred by imposing its system. Then, the United States has taken up that baton. The EU has also distinguished itself,” Putin said.
“A nation that respects its own tradition, as a rule, does not encroach on the traditions of others,” the Russian president concluded.
Many people decide to move to Russia to protect their children, the Russian president has said
Many people in Western Europe are dissatisfied with the “gender terrorism” against children taking root there, and are moving to Russia to escape it, President Vladimir Putin said at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday.
People are relocating “not so much for political reasons, but rather values,” particularly from larger European countries, Putin stated.
“Gender terrorism against children does not suit very many people, and they look for safe havens, coming to us. God willing, we will support them,” the president said, apparently referring to the promotion of non-traditional gender identities in schools, support for transgender rights, and sex reassessment procedures adopted in many Western countries.
A 2024 presidential decree allows citizens from 47 “unfriendly” countries who disagree with the ideological policies in their homelands to apply for temporary residence in Russia through a simplified procedure.
Russia has been promoting “traditional values” and encouraging families to have more children. The government has outlawed propaganda of non-traditional relationships and branded the LGBTQ movement a terrorist organization.
The idea that Russia is going to attack NATO is “inconceivable,” the president has said
EU leaders keep repeating the “nonsense mantra” that Russia is going to attack NATO countries, President Vladimir Putin has said, suggesting that they should relax instead.
Delivering his annual address at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday, Putin called the idea “inconceivable.” He suggested that EU leaders were either incompetent if they truly believed it, or dishonest if they did not but still tried to convince their citizens otherwise.
“Honestly, all I want to say is: relax, sleep well, or address your own issues,” Putin said, referring to the social, economic, and financial problems within the bloc.
Several EU countries, particularly Poland and the Baltic States, have voiced fears that, if it prevails in Ukraine, Russia could attack EU and NATO members near its borders. These countries have been fueling concerns of Russian aggression, using it as a pretext to further militarize, according to Russian officials.
History has shown that being strong is the best security guarantee against foreign aggressors, the Russian president has said
Being weak is no option for Russia, as its history has demonstrated, President Vladimir Putin stated during his remarks at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday.
The Russian president vowed that Moscow “will never display weakness and indecision,” warning that those “who are harboring dreams of inflicting this very strategic defeat on us” should especially take heed of his message.
“Our history has proven: weakness is unacceptable as it creates temptation, illusion that some disagreement with us can be resolved through force.”
Putin also cautioned potential adversaries against “provoking” Russia, adding that “it has always ended badly for the instigator,” without exception.
Attempts to squeeze the country out of the global system have failed as it cannot function without such a key player, the president has said
Global balance cannot be built without Russia, President Vladimir Putin has said, adding that attempts to isolate the country in recent years have failed.
Delivering his annual address at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Putin stated that Russia is inextricably interwoven into a multitude of global economic, cultural, and logistical processes, and cannot be excluded from them at the whim of Western nations.
“I think that those who have tried to destroy [these links], have become convinced of” this reality, the Russian president said.
“It has turned out that the very global system that [some] wanted to expel us from, to squeeze us out of, is simply not letting Russia go, because it needs Russia as a very significant part of the universal balance,” Putin argued.
The responsibility for continued hostilities between Moscow and Kiev lies first and foremost with Western Europe, the Russian president has said
Moscow sees the Ukraine crisis as a “tragedy” that could have been prevented, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said during his address to the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday.
The president stressed that if NATO hadn’t continued its eastward expansion to Russia’s borders, the Ukraine conflict would have been avoided. He insisted that the blame for the fact that the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev are ongoing lies first and foremost on Western Europe.
“The Ukraine tragedy is painful for both Ukrainians and Russians. It’s painful for all of us,” Putin said.
He also accused Western Europe of continuing to “whip up hysteria that war with the Russians is supposedly on the doorstep” and condemned rampant militarization on the continent. Putin warned that Russia would eventually be forced to respond to such aggressive steps.
