BEIJING— After a four-day trip to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the press again about his long-standing goal for a new world order. He said that a “unipolar world,” where one power rules over everyone else, is “unfair” and “outdated,” and that it needs to be replaced with a “multipolar world.”
“In this world with many poles, everyone has the same rights. Yes, there are big economies like India and China… However, that does not imply that any entity should monopolize politics or global security. Putin said, “Everyone must be equal.”
Many people think that the Russian president’s comments were a criticism of global institutions and policies headed by the West, including sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis and U.S. tariffs that have caused economic problems with countries like India and China. India is dealing with economic instability right now since U.S. President Donald Trump put a 50% tax on Indian imports and a 25% tax on Indian purchases of Russian crude oil.
Putin said that the new multipolar world shouldn’t just copy previous power structures or develop new “hegemons.” He saw groups like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as ways to promote fair and non-hierarchical international relations.
Putin also talked about how he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked informally in the car on the way to the SCO summit during the press conference. Putin told Modi about his recent conversations with President Trump in Alaska, but he didn’t go into detail. This suggests that the three leaders are having high-level diplomatic talks.
Putin claimed that the results of his trip to China were “very positive” and that the agreements made were “forward-looking.”