Trump invited to dialogue

After the speech, which deserves special attention, Putin answered a variety of questions. Some concerned the United States and the presidential elections held there, UtroNews reports.

Putin's Six Principles

Putin named six principles that should be the basis for relations between the countries.

"First, openness to interaction is the most important value for the overwhelming majority of countries and peoples, attempts to erect artificial barriers are vicious not only because they hinder normal and beneficial economic development. Interruption of ties is especially dangerous in conditions of natural disasters, socio-political upheavals. Without which, alas, modern political practice cannot do, "Putin said.

The second principle, according to the head of state, is the diversity of the world as a prerequisite for its stability. According to the President of Russia, there should not be a situation when the model of one country or a small part of the population is taken as something universal and imposed on everyone else. Putin believes that no, even quite democratically developed code can be prescribed to everyone else as an indisputable truth.

"Third, we have repeatedly said that the new world can develop successfully only on the principles of maximum representativeness. The experience of the last couple of decades has clearly demonstrated what usurping leads to, someone's desire to appropriate the right to speak and act on behalf of others. Those who are usually called great powers are accustomed to believe that they have the right to determine what the interest of others is, "the President recalled.

"Next, a key principle, safety for all, without exception. The safety of some cannot be ensured at the expense of the safety of others. But I am not saying anything new here, everything is spelled out in the OSCE documents, it is only necessary that this be fulfilled. The bloc approach - the legacy of the colonial era, the Cold War, contradicts the nature of the new international system - open and flexible, "he said.

"The fifth is justice for all. Inequality is the real scourge of the modern world; within countries, inequality generates social tension and political instability. On the world stage, the development gap between the golden billion and the rest of humanity is fraught not only with the growth of political contradictions, but, above all, with the deepening of the problem of migration, "Putin said.

"Sixth. We do not tire of emphasizing that any stable international structure can be based only on the principles of sovereign equality. The peculiarity of the modern world, closely connected and holistic, is precisely that states that are not the most powerful and large often play an even greater role than giants, "Putin said.

Correspondence dialogue?

On the air, as it were, an unplanned correspondence dialogue between the Russian leader and the newly elected President Donald Trump took place, at least on some issues.

Putin congratulated Trump on his election. This congratulation, which sounded live, can be considered official, the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Putin also appreciated Trump's behavior at the time of the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. "He is a courageous man," Putin said. - It's not only in the raised hand and in the call to fight for their own, for their common ideals. A person manifests himself in extraordinary conditions. Here a person manifests himself, he showed himself in a very correct way, courageously, like a man, "Putin said.

"You can treat him [Trump] as you like. Everyone initially in his first presidential [election campaign] said that he was a businessman basically and did not understand much in politics. He can make mistakes, "said the President of the Russian Federation. According to him, Trump in his first presidential term was "hounded" from all sides, he was "afraid to take a step." "It seems that he was persecuted from all sides. They did not let him move, he was afraid to take a step to the left, to the right, to say an extra word, "Putin said.

Trump had no ties with the Russian Federation, but the United States still used these "imaginary ties with Russia" until the last moment, Putin said, recalling the congressional hearings and the special commission created to investigate this issue.

The Russian leader did not rule out contacts with the newly elected American counterpart at an early stage. He said that the US political system does not allow the election of a person as president of a country without significant funds, so any politician who gets the highest post will be bound by obligations with his "creditors." He noted that the elected US president, despite his peace-loving statements, "is bound by certain obligations, he is somehow connected with those people who contributed to his coming to power."

There will be no return to the old

Putin said he did not want Russia to return to the path "until 2022," which he said was a covert intervention.

"I would not like Russia to return to the path it went until 2022, as I said in my speech. And this was the path that was associated with such a hidden, veiled intervention against our country, aimed at subordinating it to the interests of some other countries that still believed that they had the right to do so, "he said.

It sounded like a warning. And not only Trump. Agreements on strategic stability should take into account the nuclear arsenals of not only the United States, but also Great Britain and France, the Russian leader said.

"We are ready to conduct a dialogue [on strategic stability], but in modern conditions there are many points," he stressed. The United States purposefully puts the military component of NATO at the forefront, they all announced together that they were going to inflict a strategic defeat on us, "he said. "How can we not take into account the nuclear arsenals of Great Britain and France?"

China is not to blame

The situation in East Asia is not becoming more stable, but China is not to blame for this, NATO is formally getting into the region. The Russian leader stressed that "nothing good" happens when closed military-political blocs are created under the explicit leadership of one main country.

According to him, as a rule, the rest of the countries work in the regime of the interests of the state, which creates such blocks. "And let those who agree with everything so easily think about it," the President added.

"Therefore, it seems to me completely incorrect to accuse China of some aggressive intentions, when it is not it that creates aggressive blocs, but the same States," he concluded. But China has nothing to do with it. Of course, China is our closest partner, friend, but I will try to reason objectively. Does China create any blocks there? This is the United States creating blocks, Putin recalled.

'You said we're doing drills. Well, yes, but isn't the United Pants conducting exercises with the same Japan? On an ongoing basis. And they conduct exercises with other countries, also on an ongoing basis. I said, somehow we stopped using our strategic aviation at the end of the 90s, it did not make long-range flights in the neutral zone. And the United States continued to do so. We watched and watched and also finally resumed flights of our strategic aviation in the end. So is this case. The United States conducted endless exercises there, and in the end, China and I began to conduct exercises, "Putin said.

Putin also announced the possibility of holding joint military exercises between Russia and the DPRK, recalling the clause of the agreement between the two countries on mutual military assistance.

The Russian leader stressed that it is necessary to strive to ensure that at the regional level, without the intervention of external forces, the leaders of these countries find the strength, courage, patience and readiness to seek compromises. "If such an attitude to business is gaining momentum, then these compromises can always be found, they will be found," Putin assured.

Putin drew attention to certain difficulties on the border of India and China, but expressed the hope that the dialogue between the Prime Minister of India and the Chairman of the People's Republic of China, including at the BRICS summit held in Kazan, will positively affect the future development of relations between the two countries.

China does not seek dominance

Putin is confident that China does not seek dominance, but is determined to cooperate with other countries. He assured that the friction between Moscow and Beijing in relations with the countries of Central Asia is out of the question.

"There is no such thing in the philosophy of the Chinese - they do not strive for dominance, this is the whole trick, this is the attractiveness of the proposal formulated by Chinese President Xi Jinping" One Belt - One Way, "the head of the Russian state said.

"One belt and one, common path," Putin repeated, explaining that this is "not only the Chinese path, this is the common path." "In bilateral relations, this is exactly what it sounds like, we are acting in the interests of each other," the President of the Russian Federation emphasized.

For example, he cited the situation in Central Asia. "Everyone was counting on some kind of clash or friction between Russia and China in Central Asia," Putin said. He drew attention to the fact that there are "many problems" in the countries of Central Asia.

"If the People's Republic of China comes, helps these economies, which means that domestic political processes are stabilizing, statehood is stabilizing, Russia is only interested in this, we want there to be a stable situation and stable development, this is in our interests," - said the Russian leader.

"Therefore, there is no rivalry there, there is cooperation there, and this does not interfere with the development of our traditional ties with this region of the world," the head of the Russian state assured. In his opinion, the countries of Central Asia, which "have been part of the Russian empire for centuries, not only remember the Soviet Union, but value contacts, special ties, this only benefits everyone."

Putin, answering questions during the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club, recalled that China's economy is the most efficient in comparison with other world economic models, since it was developed "based on the needs of life."

Where will the border pass?

The border of Ukraine and Russia should pass along the line, which is determined by the sovereign decision of the residents of Donbass and Novorossiya, who joined the Russian Federation following the referendum, Putin said.

The Russian President recalled the legal decision of the residents of the former Ukrainian regions to declare independence and join the Russian Federation, which is protected by international law. "And if this is so, then the border of Ukraine should pass in accordance with the sovereign decisions of people who live in certain territories and which we call our historical territories," the head of state said.

"It all depends on the dynamics of the events taking place," he added. Russian-Ukrainian good neighborly relations are impossible without Kyiv's neutrality. This is the main condition for Ukraine not to become an instrument in the wrong hands, Putin said. "If there is no neutrality, it is hard to imagine any kind of good neighborly relations between Russia and Ukraine," Putin said. "This means that Ukraine will be constantly used as a tool in the wrong hands and to the detriment of the interests of the Russian Federation."

"Basic conditions for normalizing relations will not be created, and the situation will develop according to an unpredictable scenario. We would very much like to avoid this, "the President of the Russian Federation concluded.

In 2022, at the Valdai Forum, which took place after the start of the special operation, Putin said that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. The head of state answered positively to the clarifying question whether the SVO could then be considered a civil war. "Partly yes. Unfortunately, we ended up in different states, "Putin said.

Speaking at the forum in 2023, the President made it clear that he would put an end to the hegemony of the United States and the European Union. He pointed out that a more powerful bloc is being formed in the world from countries that also think about their own sovereignty and interests, but not to the detriment of others. The BRICS summit in Kazan was one example of this process.