West can’t sit out crises it caused – Putin

Only a world united by common goals can act on the challenges it faces, the Russian President said.

The West and its allies are playing a “dirty game,” the prize in which is global dominance, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. However, the US and its allies are not safe from the consequences of their own actions, he added.

“Power over the world is what the West has put at stake in the game it plays. This game is certainly dangerous, bloody and I would call it dirty.”

The Russian president’s comments came at a Valdai Discussion Club meeting outside Moscow on Thursday.

He offered his view that Western nations deny others on the global scene the right to any kind of independence, be it political, economical or cultural. Last December, Russia’s proposals to address its concerns about national security were “tossed aside” by Washington, he noted.

“But in the modern world, sitting aside is hardly an option.

He who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind, as the proverb says,” he said, pointing out that the ongoing global crisis affects everyone and all aspects of life.

Humanity basically now has two paths it can pursue, Putin stated.

It can either be fractured and keep accumulating problems that will eventually bury it, or try to find “may be not ideal, but working” solutions to common issues.

Putin said he believes in common sense and is convinced that sooner or later “new centers of power in the multipolar world and the West will have to start talking as equals about our common future.”

The president noted that while the disruption of the ecological balance threatens biodiversity, diversity of political thought, social norms, and culture is as important as genetic diversity.

Western nations, which want to impose their values and vision as universal, are robbing everyone, including themselves, Putin reasoned. “First of all, this eradicates the creative potential of the West itself,” he warned.

“There is a mercantile interest here too” the Russian leader added, explaining that a homogenous society makes selling things simpler.

Our adversaries, as I would call them, are trying to expand markets for their products. It’s ultimately as primitive as that.