It has become clear that there cannot be winners in a global conflict since nuclear weapons were invented. This statement was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the 12th meeting of the International Discussion Club Valdai that is taking place in Sochi.
‘‘It has become clear that there are no winners in this global conflict. There can only be one result: guaranteed assured destruction," RIA Novosti cites Vladimir Putin.
‘‘In trying to make weapons more destructive, humanity deprived the meaning of war itself,’’ the President pointed out. "By the way, the generation of world leaders of the 50-60-70's and even 80's related to the use of military forces as an exceptional measure. In this respect they were very responsible,’’ he said.
In any case, according to the Russian leader, economic, political and military global competition should be carried out only in term of moral norms and rules. Otherwise, there is a high probability of serious crises and breakdowns.
"In the past we could see it many times and, unfortunately, today we face with a similar situation again," he noted.
Attempts to "to promote a model of unilateral dominance by any means has led to an imbalance of the system of international law and global governance,’’ Putin said.
The President also assured that the Iranian nuclear issue can be considered to be closed, because there was no danger from Iran, neither today, nor in the previous years.
"The reason that persuaded our American partners to build a missile defense system has disappeared,’’ Putin said.
The President spoke about the Russian military operation in Syria, stressing that it is entirely legitimate and pursues only one goal – to help restore peace in the region. "After a request from the official Syrian authorities for support, we decided to start a military operation in this country. I say it once again: it is a completely legitimate action. Its purpose is to promote peace in the region," he said.
The President also expressed hope that Russian airstrikes will have a positive impact on the situation and give the official authorities an opportunity to create conditions for further actions for a political settlement.
"It is obvious that a military victory over the rebels won’t solve all the problems, but it will create conditions for the main thing – the beginning of a political process with the participation of all healthy patriotic forces of Syrian society. Syrians should determine their fate with the help of the extremely correct, respectful assistance of the international community, rather than pressure from external forces, ultimatums, threats and blackmail,’’ Putin said.
The President recalled that Moscow has always spoken about the necessity to unite efforts in the fight against terrorism. "Russia has always fought terrorism in all its forms. It has supported the real unification of the international community in order to oppose this evil," he said.
