Putin at Valdai: Multipolarity, Ukraine Weapons, French Piracy, and US Rift

Russian President covers multipolarity, Western decline, NATO confrontation, and U.S. internal divisions in marathon Sochi session

PUREWILAYAH.COM – Sochi, Oct 03, 2025 – Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the annual Valdai Discussion Club session in Sochi on Thursday, where he delivered a comprehensive keynote address, participated in a panel discussion, and fielded questions from the audience.

Across nearly four hours, Putin touched on a wide range of subjects, from the Ukraine conflict and Russia’s military readiness to Western decline, French “piracy,” U.S. missile supplies, and the murder of American activist Charlie Kirk.

Multipolarity as a Response to Western Hegemony and the Erosion of Democracy

Putin described the current global moment as one of “rapid and drastic changes,” noting that the rise of a multipolar world is a natural outcome of Western attempts to impose hegemony.

“Multipolarity has become a direct consequence of attempts to establish and preserve global hegemony, a response by the international system and history itself to the obsessive desire to arrange everyone into a single hierarchy, with Western countries at the top. The failure of such an endeavor was only a matter of time,” he stated.

He also argued that democracy in the West has deteriorated into manipulation and performance rather than genuine representation.

“Democratic electoral procedures have been turned into farce, attempts to manipulate the will of the people – it won’t work. We’ve seen this in Romania, for example… It happens in many countries,” he said.

Putin pointed to the annulment of Romania’s 2024 presidential election, citing fraud and foreign meddling, where frontrunner Calin Georgescu was barred from participating in the rerun.

He further criticized international institutions such as the OSCE, claiming they have become politicized and biased, while lamenting that the EU has lost its stature as a “powerful civilizational center.”

The West Should Look Inward While Russia Stands Firm

Addressing persistent narratives that Russia intends to attack NATO or the European Union, Putin dismissed them as either incompetence or deliberate lies told by politicians.

“Honestly, all I want to say is: Relax, sleep well, or address your own issues,” he said, calling on the EU to focus on migration and economic problems rather than imagining Russian aggression.

He also underscored that Russia cannot afford weakness. “History shows that weakness creates temptation, an illusion that disagreements with us can be resolved through force,” he said.

According to Putin, the Ukraine conflict has transformed Russia’s military into one of the most combat-ready forces in the world, capable of rapid adaptation to challenges.

“If we’re at war with the entire NATO bloc… we have to be confident in ourselves, and we are confident,” he insisted.

From French “Piracy” to U.S. “Paper Tiger” Remarks and Tomahawk Threats

Putin was asked about France’s recent seizure of an oil tanker allegedly linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.” He denounced the act as piracy and accused Paris of using the move to distract from its domestic troubles.

“What do you do with pirates? You destroy them. What else should be done to pirates? This doesn’t mean a war will break out across the world’s oceans tomorrow, but the risk of collisions will certainly increase sharply and significantly,” Putin said.

Turning to the United States, Putin rejected President Donald Trump’s recent description of Russia as a “paper tiger,” suggesting Trump might have been speaking ironically.

“What’s next? Well, in that case, go and confront this paper tiger. But, as you can see, the reality on the ground is different,” he noted.

Putin said Ukraine lost nearly 45,000 soldiers in September alone, reiterating that Russia is effectively fighting the entire NATO alliance.

On the subject of U.S. weapons, Putin warned that supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles would escalate tensions significantly without changing battlefield realities.

“The delivery of these weapons would mark a new stage of escalation,” he argued, stressing that Ukraine could not operate such systems without direct American involvement.

The Murder of Charlie Kirk as a Sign of U.S. Division

In one of his most unexpected remarks, Putin commented on the assassination of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed by a sniper in Utah last month.

Calling it a “despicable crime,” Putin expressed condolences to Kirk’s family and suggested that the killing reflects the severity of internal fractures within the United States.

“This crime is a sign of a deep rift in society,” he said, linking the tragedy to broader instability and disunity inside the U.S. (PW)

Source: RT News