Putin reveals Russia’s mission: ‘The West always needs an enemy’

Vladimir Putin revealed Russia’s mission to build “a new world” and expanded on his goals concerning the war in Ukraine during public remarks Thursday.

The Russian president blamed the West for his invasion of Ukraine at the annual meeting of the Valdai Club, a political forum held from Oct. 2 to Oct. 5 this year. The theme of this conference was “Fair multipolarity: How to ensure security and development for all.”

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“We are tasked, essentially, with building a new world,” Putin said as he rattled off grievances against the West, including the claim that Western nations are attempting to create global “hegemony.”

“The West always needs an enemy,” the Russian president said. “We haven’t started the so-called war in Ukraine. On the contrary, we’re trying to end it.”

Putin also shifted blame to Ukrainian leadership, claiming that the “Kyiv regime” started the war in Ukraine “with active and direct Western support almost 10 years ago.”

Putin’s portrayal of the conflict has Russia on the counteroffensive. He stated, “Our counterparts in the West have lost their sense of reality and have crossed all possible boundaries.”

The grievances laid out in his Valdai speech went back all the way to the Cold War. Putin claimed that the West mistook “constructive interaction” for “submission” and an agreement that the “new world order” would be built by “those who proclaimed themselves the winners of the Cold War.”

Putin claimed that Russia repeatedly warned of the “growing threat” of military conflict. “But no one was going to listen to us, no one wanted to hear us. The arrogance of our so-called partners in the West was simply off the charts.”

The Russian president denied that Russia’s motivation for its invasion of Ukraine was based on territorial gains. Instead, he asserted that the war is being fought over “the principles on which the new world order will be based.”

Spelling out the prerequisites for an end to the conflict, Putin said, “Lasting peace will be established only when everyone feels safe, understands that their opinion is respected and that there is balance in the world, when no one is able to force others to live and behave as the hegemon wishes.”

Putin has been meeting with Valdai Club experts since its founding in 2004, and Thursday’s meeting was attended by 140 experts, politicians, and diplomats from 42 countries around the world.

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The webpage for the event Putin spoke at states, “The Club assumes that after February 24, 2022, the structure of international relations changed completely. It is impossible to return it to its previous state.”

The date referred to is the day Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.