MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. Traditional societies are the foundation of global civilization, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club on Thursday.
"Development should be based on dialogue with society, as well as spiritual and moral values. Different civilizations have different understandings of human beings and their nature. It is different only on the surface, but everyone recognizes the supreme dignity and spiritual essence of man. And this is extremely important, this is the common basis on which we should build our future," Putin noted.
"What I want to emphasize here is that traditional values are not some stable set of postulates that everyone should adhere to. Of course not, their difference from the so-called neoliberal values is that they are unique in every case. Since they stem from the traditions of a concrete society, its culture and historical background. Therefore, traditional values cannot be imposed, they must simply be respected, and what every nation has chosen for centuries must be treated with care," the president stressed.
Respect for specific features of the peoples and civilization is in everyone's interests, including the West. "This is our understanding of traditional values, and this approach is shared and accepted by most of mankind. This is logical, since it is the traditional societies of the East, Latin America, Africa, Eurasia that form the basis of global civilization," Putin summed up.