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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a session of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, October 18, 2018 - Sputnik International

Vladimir Putin Attends Plenary Session of Valdai Club - Video

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The Russian resort city of Sochi is hosting a meeting of the prominent political forum, the Valdai Discussion Club, which brings together high-profile politicians, lawmakers and top experts from across the globe, to discuss the topic "The Dawn of the East and the World Political Order."

Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending the plenary session of the forum where he will be joined by Philippines leader, Rodrigo Duterte, as well as King Abdullah II of Jordan, and the Azerbaijani and Kazakh presidents.

The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. Over the years, more than 1,000 international experts from 63 nations have attended its meetings. The Club aims to promote political dialogue in order to strengthen peaceful conflict resolution and provide analysis of economic and social developments globally.

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18:45 GMT 03.10.2019

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his country might deploy missiles to Asia, in a tit-for-tat response to a threat by the United States to do so within months’ time.

"I said at once that we would do the same thing. But we said in advance that we would not deploy missiles — considered we ever got medium-range ground-based missiles — to those regions until US-made missiles were moved there. I said it five times. No one reacted, neither in the US nor in Europe," he said.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in August that he wanted to have land-based missiles deployed to Asia soon. He spoke a day after the US formally pulled out of the INF missile treaty that banned such weapons.

Putin said Russia wanted to see where in Asia these missiles would be stationed and whether they would be capable of reaching the Russian territory.

"We will wait and watch their next steps. Where will they [missiles] pop up, whom and in what way will they threaten? Is it good or bad? It’s very bad because there will be a tit-for-tat response. Will it do Asia any good? No, it won’t. Things will only get worse. New threats will emerge. But I do hope that it was not a final decision and options for resolving this situation are still on the table," he said.

17:55 GMT 03.10.2019

The US exit from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) has had a visible negative effect on global security, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"The situation did not get better. It got worse after the US left the INF, as anyone can see. Now we are waiting for the next decision," he said at a Valdai discussion club meeting in Sochi.

The United States left the landmark Cold-War treaty that banned medium-range land-based missiles in August after accusing Russia of violating it, a claim it denied. The Pentagon tested a cruise missile a few weeks later.

17:45 GMT 03.10.2019

"Our stance is to oppose the creation of new blocs similar to [those that sprang up in] Europe and the North Atlantic after World War II," Vladimir Putin said at a Valdai discussion club meeting in Sochi.

Turning to Asia, Putin said that he considered the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be the main regional group, around which other organizations coalesced.

"But if there were attempts to create blocs, I think, it would be something alien to Asia as a whole and specifically to what is it now," he said.

"These attempts are not likely to be successful. I know how many of ours friends in Asia feel about it: they do not want to team up on anyone. They want to build a network of cooperation in various areas and … make compromises that would respect each other's interests … They do not want to be dragged into a tug-of-war between any countries," Putin said.

17:35 GMT 03.10.2019

"We call, guided by this noble impulse, to do everything possible not to use the territory of Syria as a platform for confrontation," Putin said.

17:34 GMT 03.10.2019

Moscow is helping Beijing to create its own ballistic missile early warning system, which will dramatically increase China's defense capability.

"We will continue to work together in space exploration, in the area of military-technical cooperation ... We are now helping our Chinese partners to create a missile early warning network," Putin said at a plenary meeting of the Valdai discussion club.

"This is a very serious endeavor that will fundamentally and radically increase the defense capability of the People’s Republic of China, because only the United States and Russia have such a system at present," the Russian president stressed.

17:09 GMT 03.10.2019

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that restraining China is impossible, and those who try to do this will only harm themselves.

"Regarding the attempts to restrain China: I think that by definition it is impossible. And if someone makes such attempts, he, the one who does it, will understand that it is impossible. And during those attempts, of course, will harm himself," Putin said at a plenary session of the Valdai discussion club in Russia's Sochi.

"In any case, I consider such a development of events to be destructive and harmful, while joining efforts to create an environment of friendly cooperation and finding common security systems for all, is what we should work on together," the Russian president added.

16:14 GMT 03.10.2019

"Jordan supports the Geneva process and complementary initiatives especially the Astana process in accord with UN resolutions; the results would not be possible without Russia's role," the king said at a plenary session of the Valdai discussion club in Russia's Sochi.

15:38 GMT 03.10.2019

Amman and Moscow need to work more closely to solve problems in the Middle East region, King Abdullah II said.

"As you know, over the past 10 years we have seen the emergence of new issues that can be discussed. But some realities have not changed - Jordan and Russia continue to share an understanding of relatively close cooperation to achieve regional and global peace," Abdullah II said at a plenary meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

According to the Jordanian king, Jordan and Russia remain committed to the core values ​​that unite the two countries.

"Jordan and Russia continue to seek peace and stability in the Middle East," Abdullah II stressed.

15:12 GMT 03.10.2019

“The time has come to talk about a global concert, about a model for developing the interests of culture and traditions, where the sound of each instrument is important, indispensable and valuable. And for the music to be played without false notes, without any cacophony, but rather sound harmoniously, it is important to take into account opinions and interests of all participants in international affairs," Putin said at a plenary meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

15:07 GMT 03.10.2019

"We propose to put aside the accumulated prejudices, mutual claims and, in fact, attempt to create from scratch an organization for security and cooperation in this region, which, in addition to the Gulf countries, could also include Russia, China, the United States, the EU, India and other interested states as observers," Putin said at a plenary meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

The President added that Russia is in favor of creating equal indivisible security in the world based on collective work.

"Our country is focused on strengthening security and stability, on combating international terrorism, other challenges and threats. We are in favor of creating, including in Asia, a system of equal and indivisible security based on broad collective work," Putin said.

Russia, Vladimir Putin further said, is fully complying with its obligations as one of the guarantors of global security and world order.

"Our country fully complies with its duties as one of the guarantors of the existing world order, and I am convinced it will continue this way, it will be especially effective if we work jointly," he highlighted.

15:01 GMT 03.10.2019

"In our opinion, the Syrian settlement can become a model for resolving regional crises, and in the vast majority of cases it will be the diplomatic mechanisms that work. The use of force is an extreme exception," Putin said at a plenary meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

14:58 GMT 03.10.2019

"Today it is obvious that global problems just can't be solved without Asia. Certainly, you can try to do this by inertia and out of old habit. But the legitimacy, and most importantly practical sense, value of such solutions, claiming to be global and universal, is rather doubtful," Putin said at a plenary meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

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