- Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the Valdai Forum on Thursday.
- He discussed issues including Trump’s victory and Taiwan.
- The Russian president said he would be open to discussing Ukraine with Trump.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on his US election victory in a wide-ranging speech that was followed by a marathon three-hour question-and-answer session.
Putin’s comments were made in his annual foreign policy address at the Valdai conference in southern Russia.
During the event, the Russian president also spoke about China’s position towards Taiwan, the influence of the US on NATO and the emergence of a “new world order”.
Business Insider picked seven of the most notable moments.
An overture for the ‘masculine’ Trump
For the first time, Putin discussed Trump’s victory in the US presidential election and said he was ready to talk to him.
“Trump’s desire to restore relations with Russia, to help end the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, deserves at least attention,” the Russian president said.
Trump has vowed to quickly end the war in Ukraine when he takes office, but critics say a Trump-brokered peace deal could result in Ukraine being forced to cede territory.
In an apparent bid to rekindle their relationship, Putin also said Trump had been “brave” and “manly” during an assassination attempt on him in July.
Trump told NBC shortly after Putin’s comments: “I think we will talk.”
His demands for Ukraine
In addition to taking Trump on his side, Putin used the event to outline his vision for ending the war in Ukraine.
He said that for a peace deal to be a possibility, Ukraine would have to agree to neutrality.
“If there is no neutrality, it is difficult to imagine the existence of any good neighborly relations between Russia and Ukraine,” he said.
Without neutrality, Ukraine would “continually be used as a tool in the wrong hands and to the detriment of the interests of the Russian Federation,” Putin added.
Ukraine has long rejected neutrality as a condition for a peace deal and is seeking NATO membership to help defend against Russia.
A vision for a new world order
Putin’s mission is not only to conquer Ukraine, but also to work together with it other authoritarian leaders to undermine US global power.
In his speech, Putin reiterated his belief that a new world order is on the way.
“The previous world agreement is irretrievably passing, in fact it is already dead, and a serious, irreconcilable struggle is unfolding for the development of a new world order,” he said.
“It is irreconcilable, above all, because this is not even a struggle for power or geopolitical influence. It is a clash of the very principles that will underlie the relations of countries and peoples in the next historical phase.”
His reference to China’s ‘reasonable’ Taiwan policy
The Russian president backed China’s ally position on Taiwan, the independent island that Beijing has threatened with the prospect of annexation.
“A lot is happening around Taiwan. Everyone officially admits, yes, Taiwan is part of China. But in reality? In reality, he is acting in a completely different direction. Provoking the situation to escalation,” Putin said.
“We support China. And because of that, we believe that (China) is conducting a completely reasonable policy. And also because it is our ally. We have a very large trade turnover, we cooperate in the security sector.”
China has long claimed to be the rightful owner of Taiwan, a US ally that has been governed independently for decades.
Russia has relied on Chinese diplomatic and economic support after being isolated from the West over the war in Ukraine and has participated in joint military exercises with China near Taiwan.
An attack on NATO and the influence of the US
Putin, in his remarks, criticized NATO, the security alliance that has long been the main bulwark against Russian aggression in Europe and which has provided vital aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
He described the alliance as a “flagrant anachronism” subject to the “dictation of big brother”, referring to the US.
Analysts believe that one of Putin’s main goals is to weaken the alliance, allowing Russia to more easily expand its power.
Promoting BRICS as an alternative
Putin contrasted NATO with the BRICS group, a group of major non-Western economies that includes Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
Russia and China have sought to make the group an alternative global power base to the US, although some members, including India, have resisted this.
“The prototype of a new, free and non-block character of relations between states and peoples is the community that is currently being formed within the framework of BRICS,” Putin said.
“This, among other things, clearly illustrates the fact that even among NATO members there are those, as you know, who are interested in working closely with BRICS.
A plan to undermine the US in the Middle East
On the conflict in the Middle East, Putin called for negotiations to end Israel’s war against Hamas and other Iranian proxies.
Russia has backed calls for Palestinian sovereignty and criticized Israel’s US-backed campaign in what analysts say is likely an attempt to reduce US regional influence.
“You know, now we must try to reduce the suffering of the Palestinian people to a minimum, to zero. We must immediately stop the fighting there, we must do everything so that Israel and Palestine, in this case Hamas, agree on this.” Putin said.