MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. There is no middle way between being an independent country and a colony in today’s world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with young entrepreneurs on Thursday.

"The world is changing, and it’s changing rapidly. In order to claim some kind of leadership, particularly global leadership, any country, any nation, any ethnic group needs to ensure its sovereignty," the head of state pointed out.

"The reason is that there is no middle way between being a sovereign country and a colony, no matter what you call a colony," Putin emphasized.

"If a country or a group of countries is unable to make sovereign decisions, it means that it already is a colony to a certain extent and colonies historically have no future and stand no chance of surviving a tough geopolitical fight," the head of state noted.

Putin did not name any specific countries, but stressed that the geopolitical fight had been going on forever.