US Hardly the ‘Superpower’ it Used to be: Putin

Thursday, 22 October 2020 10:31 PM

Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think tank, via a video conference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, October 22, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin suggests that, what he calls, the era of the United States’ “absolute dominance” throughout the international community is far over as the world’s power relations are undergoing important changes.

“The United States, which at some point absolutely dominated, can hardly claim to be exclusive," Putin told the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think tank, via video-link on Thursday.

"The times when all the most important international questions were discussed and solved effectively between Washington and Moscow have passed," he added.

China and Germany were advancing in the direction of becoming superpowers of their own, he noted, citing significant increase in their economic and political clout. The Russian head of state also named the UK and France as two other countries, whose role “in international affairs has noticeably changed.”

Notwithstanding the changes that were happening to the balance of power across the world, Putin warned those awaiting Russia to bow out of the ranks of influential and powerful states, jibing, “Our main concern is not to get sick at your funeral."

The Russian president, meanwhile, expressed willingness to potentially engage with other countries in discussion about global problems.

He even proposed dialog with the next US administration in terms of cybersecurity, other security-related matters, and nuclear arms control.

Russia offers to put a one-year freeze on the number of its nuclear warheads in return for a similar freeze on the number of the United States’ atomic warheads to facilitate a one-year extension of the last nuclear arms control treaty between the two countries.

Under the outgoing administration of President Donald Trump, the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) and the Anti- Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty with Russia, citing alleged violations by Moscow.

Putin criticized, what he called, lack of transparency in the area of nuclear weapons on the part of Washington.

"Don’t tell me they (the US) are all straight up and above board and have no intention to do things under the counter," he said, citing "issues of verification in nuclear arms" as an example, where the American side could have acted more honestly.

He, however, warned that the world would not have a “future” without effective arms limitation treaties that would bring ongoing arms races under control.