ANKARA, May 7. /TASS/. Putin’s inauguration speech reminded the West of Russia’s foreign policy principles laid bare in Putin’s much-talked-about Munich speech, Aydin Sezer, a Turkish political scientist and economist and former Turkish trade representative to Russia, told TASS.
"The entire world was keenly following Putin’s speech after the inauguration. Amid the Western sanctions, he stressed the importance of the country firmly standing its ground, being united and strong, and defending its sovereignty. It can be said that due to the sanctions and pressure, Russia has managed to become more united and Putin’s image has improved greatly," he said. "Another important nuance of Putin’s speech was that he did not reject ties with the West but called for dialogue, but on equal terms, on the basis of mutual respect. As for me, this speech reminded me of Putin’s Munich speech."
The Turkish expert recalled that during the Munich Security Conference back in 2007 "Putin said that the unipolar world had no future and a multipolar world order was needed." "Today, during the inauguration, it was another reminder about the principles of Russia’s foreign policy, about multipolarity, cooperation in Central Asia, about its security interests. In the present-day international conditions, it is very important to repeat this. Including from the point of view of the fact that we see that BRICS nations, countries of Central Asia, Africa, other regions of the world don’t want the West to tie their hands," Sezer said.
Putin was inaugurated as president of Russia for the fifth time. The ceremony that kicked off his new presidential term took place on Tuesday. In his speech, the president outlined the country’s top priorities, such as the well-being of the people, respect for the country’s long-standing traditions, and further developing partnerships with the countries of the global majority. According to the president, Moscow is ready for dialogue on security and strategic stability, but "it should not be held from a position of strength but should be free of arrogance, conceit and a sense of exceptionalism," "the parties to the dialogue should be equal and have respect for each other’s interests.".