BISHKEK, October 13. /TASS/. The countries of the so-called "golden billion" ("global 1%" - TASS) are seeing their hegemonic leadership position slip away, despite desperate attempts to cling to it, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at a meeting of the Council of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Heads of State, which is currently convening in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
"The trends are as follows: The countries of the so-called ‘golden billion’ are gradually, due to purely objective circumstances, losing their leadership despite their attempts to hold on to it," Putin said.
Russia’s head of state noted that production volumes are increasing in the countries of the Global South and in Asia. He recounted that GDP volumes have become greater in the BRICS countries, particularly following the group’s recent expansion, and now have "significantly exceeded the G7 countries." "The trend toward economic growth and [rising] weight of the countries of Asia and the rest of the world is continuing; that’s what is most important. Moreover, this is an objective, [irrefutable] process; there is no getting away from it," the Russian leader said.
Putin noted that the formation of a multipolar world system would follow in the wake of this shift in the economic and political center of gravity.
"The heart of the matter does not concern just the events in Ukraine, and it’s not even so much [about them]. Of course, they are serving to accelerate these changes, but the overall global trends are precisely about this, the trends toward economic development," he said.