MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow will invariably support the United Nations, because it regards the organization as a universal institution.
"Russia as one of the founders of the United Nations and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has always supported this universal organization. We believe that it is not just universal, but unique in a sense. There is no other organization like it in the international community," Putin said at a meeting with visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday.
"We support in every possible way the principles on which the organization was founded and we are going to do so in the future," Putin said.
The Russian leader said Moscow is puzzled whenever it hears statements by some countries about a rules-based world order.
"It’s a bit strange for us to hear statements by some of our colleagues when they talk about a world order based on rules," Putin said. "We believe that the main rule is the United Nations Charter and other documents that are passed by that organization, rather than some papers that are written by someone to suit their own purposes or ensure their own interests."
"We also look with astonishment at some of the statements by our colleagues that someone in the world is exceptional or claims exclusive rights, because the Charter of the United Nations states that all participants in international communication are equal to each other, regardless of power, size or their geographic location," the president said. "I think that this is akin to what is written and stated in the Bible: all people are equal. Surely, we will find the same in the Koran and in the Torah. All people are equal before the Lord."
He said it was "puzzling to hear ideas that someone seeks some exclusivity."
"We live in a complex world. Therefore, we are based on the fact that there is what there really is. We work with everyone," the head of state said. He said "the UN was once created to solve acute crises and went through different stages of its development."
"And quite recently, a few years ago, we heard that it was outdated, that it was no longer needed," Putin said. "That happened at the moments when it prevented someone from achieving their goals on the international stage."
"We have always said that there is no such universal organization as the UN, and we need to value the institutions that were created after World War II to resolve disputes," the president said.