SOCHI, November 7. /TASS/. Russia and an overwhelming majority of countries seek to bolster the spirit of international progress and the aspiration for durable peace that had been at the core of development since the middle of last century, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club on Thursday.
"The West is hypocritically trying to convince all of us that what humankind had been striving to achieve after World War II is endangered. Nothing of this kind. Both Russia and an overwhelming majority of countries are precisely striving to strengthen the spirit of international progress and the aspiration for durable peace that had been at the core of development since the middle of last century while quite other things are actually under threat," the Russian leader pointed out.
"It is the West’s monopoly, which arose after the collapse of the Soviet Union and which it gained for some time at the end of the 20th century that is under threat. However, I want to say once again and those present here understand well that any monopoly, as history shows, ends sooner or later. There must be no illusion on this score and monopoly is always a harmful thing even for monopolists," Putin stressed.
The practice of the collective West’s elites is influential but most participants of the club that is quite limited are aimed not forward, not at creation, but backward, at retention, he pointed out.