Putin Tells Valdai Discussion Club Goal Is Creation of ‘New World’

"We did not start the so-called war in Ukraine, on the contrary, we are trying to end it," Putin emphasized

"A lasting peace will only be established when everyone feels safe, understand that their opinions are respected and that there is a balance in the world, when no one is able to force others to live and behave as the hegemon pleases," Putin said.

“The Indian leadership, I want to say, is independent, very nationally oriented and I think that these attempts [to tear India away from Russia] do not make any sense, but nevertheless they persist,” Putin said.

"As for BRICS, we need not to create a common currency, but to establish a system of settlements, create financial logistics in order to ensure settlement between our states in national currencies, taking into account the situation with our national currencies and the macroeconomic performance of our economies as well as currency rate differences and processes of inflation. It is a tough but manageable situation. We need to work on this," Putin clarified.

"In order to achieve it some day, we need to reach a certain parity in the development of our national economies. It is a very long-term perspective... The eurozone has switched to the euro, a common currency, without considering how it would work for countries with different levels of economic development, eventually causing problems. Why would we make the same mistakes," Putin said, adding that there is a need to improve the financial system as a whole.

"External interference and attempts to create quasi-states of a kind on Syrian territory lead to no good. Displacement of Arab tribes from the land they historically live on is a grave issue that can lead to the conflict's protraction," Putin stressed.

"Since the start of the so-called counteroffensive — and these are the data only since June 4 — Ukrainian military units have lost more than 90,000 — those are sanitary and irreplaceable losses, as well as 557 tanks and almost 1,900 armored vehicles of various types," Putin stressed.

"We are calmly moving towards achieving our goals and are sure that we will manage to accomplish all the tasks we have set for ourselves," Putin emphasized.

"We continue to supply gas to Europe via the TurkStream. Apparently, Ukrainian terrorist groups aim to damage it too," Putin said.

"They are constantly being attacked with the help of drones, which are being prepared, in particular, with the direct participation of English-speaking specialists and advisers. We hear this on the air. We hear the English speech where these unmanned semi-submersible boats are being prepared. This is an obvious fact for us. Who ultimately does this, draw your own conclusions," the president stressed.

"The [gas] supplies continue, including through the territory of Ukraine. We export it via the Ukrainian territory and pay money for it," Putin emphasized.

"We hear that we are aggressors, but the money does not seem to stink for them. They are happy to get our money. We are open and ready for cooperation. If they don't want it, it's their problem," he stated.

"We will increase the amount of liquefied natural gas produced and sold, and will export it to other markets. We will build new pipeline networks to the countries that want to get our product, where it is absolutely competitive and increases the competitiveness of the economies of the countries where our products are supplied," the president noted.

“As of today, we already have 335,000 people who voluntarily came and entered into contracts with the Defense Ministry,” Putin said, adding that some 5,000 volunteers have signed short-term contracts.

"First of all, I do not know what civilization people on the other side of the front line defend," the president added.

"In China, as far as I know, the growth is already 6.4%. This is a very good figure. No matter who says what about a slowdown in the Russian and Chinese economies, it is all chatter and idle talk, because China ensures these high rates and is one of the leading engines of the global economy. The same is true for India. The growth there is even higher, 7.6%. That is why the countries of the Global South, to the contrary, are gaining tempo. Our objective is to ensure this leadership," Putin stressed.

"I hear certain calls to resume nuclear tests. Here is what I can tell them: the US signed a relevant agreement on the prohibition of nuclear tests, and Russia signed it too. The United States signed it - but never ratified it," the president stressed.

"The first thing I would like to point out is that long before the explosions, US President [Joe Biden] said in public that the United States would do everything to stop the supplies of Russian energy products to Europe via those pipelines ... Second, the destruction of those infrastructure facilities is certainly an act of international terrorism," he said.

“We see that one of the ways to provoke and create a crisis in Ukraine was the desire of Western countries, and especially the United States, to expand NATO to the borders of the Russian Federation. But they do the same thing in the East [near China], creating various closed military groups,” Putin said, adding that Russia is not creating any alliances but is forced to react together with China to these developments.