Putin outlines desired principles of international relations

The Russian president believes equality, universal justice and security for all are keystones in any stable system

Russian President Vladimir Putin has named six key principles that international relations should be built upon. The president made the remarks on Thursday as he spoke at the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi.

Moscow understands what it wants to achieve when it comes to building international relations, Putin stated, but he admitted that such a complex process can be very difficult to predict and “life might and will certainly make its own adjustments.” The Russian president then outlined six points he believes should serve as foundations for international relations.

“We want to live in an open, interconnected world in which no one will ever try to erect artificial barriers to people’s communication, creativity, and prosperity,” Putin said, adding that Moscow strives to not only preserve the world’s diversity, but to make said diversity the “foundation of universal development.”

Russia also believes the world’s countries must have “maximum representation,” so that no one nation can assert their will upon any other.

“No one has the right and cannot rule the world for others or on behalf of others. The world of the future is a world of collective decisions made at those levels at which they are most effective, and by those participants who are truly capable of making a significant contribution to resolving a specific problem,” he explained.

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Russia also believes in the principle of security for all, which would ensure a “lasting peace, built on respect for the interests of everyone, from great, large states to small countries,” the president said.

“We have been talking for decades about the indivisibility of security, about the fact that it is impossible to ensure the security of some at the expense of the security of others. Indeed, harmony in this area is achievable. You just need to put aside pride, arrogance and stop regarding others as second-class partners or as outcasts or savages,” Putin noted.

He stressed the importance of “universal justice,” declaring that no nation should be exploited by another. “Everyone should be provided with access to the benefits of modern development, and attempts to limit it for any country or people should be considered an act of aggression, exactly that,” the president explained. Finally, Putin emphasized equality, as “no one is ready to obey, to make their interests and needs dependent on anyone, and, in particular, on the richer and more powerful anymore.”

“This is not just a natural state of the international community; it is the quintessence of the entire historical experience of mankind,” the Russian president concluded.