Putin says West losing ground as Global South rises

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Western countries are losing their leadership positions and giving way to new centres of economic growth in the Global South, as he outlined his vision of an emerging multipolar world order.

Speaking via video address to participants and guests of the Open Dialogue international forum, Putin argued that traditional norms governing international relations and business are gradually weakening.

“Previous approaches and established norms and rules of business life and international relations are gradually losing their force, including due to the actions of Western states, which are losing their leading positions and giving way to new centres of growth — the countries of the Global South,” he said, according to TASS.

He stated that a more complex and multipolar structure of global development is taking shape, with a growing role for countries that prioritise national sovereignty and independently determine their development paths.

“Of course, it is obvious: no country can develop in isolation — at the expense of other states or to their detriment. Moreover, modern global challenges require a collective response and joint efforts,” Putin said.

The Russian president added that sustainable and fair global development is only possible if it is based on equality and mutual respect, with due consideration for the interests of all nations.

“It is important to orient the entire platform of global development so that every person anywhere in the world has the right to a successful future, can choose their own path and step by step realise that choice,” he concluded.

By Tamilla Hasanova