MOSCOW 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the West is trying to contain the formation of a multipolar world by activating old conflicts to preserve its hegemony.

Speaking at the 2022 Moscow Conference on International Security, Putin said the Western countries are striving to hold the countries and peoples in chains of the neocolonial order.

"Their (Western) hegemony means stagnation for the whole world, for the whole civilization, (it means) obscurantism, the abolition of culture, and neoliberal totalitarianism," he said.

In an attempt to preserve their domination, the US and its allies rudely interfere in the internal affairs of the countries, organize coups, civil wars, provocations, use blackmail, and pressure to subdue states to its will, Putin added.

"In these conditions, we have decided to conduct a special military operation in Ukraine in full compliance with the UN Charter.

"The objectives of this operation are clearly defined – ensuring the security of Russia and our citizens, protecting the residents of Donbass from genocide," he said.

The situation in Ukraine shows that the US is working on the protraction of the conflict, he added.

Meanwhile, Washington has also attempted a provocation in the Asia-Pacific region, Putin said, calling US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan "a part of the US purposeful strategy" on destabilization of the region and "insolent demonstration" of disrespect to the sovereignty of other countries.

The establishment of the military alliances in the Asia-Pacific is another part of the plan, he said.

"It is obvious that with the help of such actions, Western globalist elites are also trying to divert the attention of their own citizens from acute socio-economic problems – falling living standards, unemployment, poverty, deindustrialization – to shift their own failures to other countries – to Russia, to China," he noted.

"It is a multipolar world built on international law, on fairer relations, that opens up new opportunities to combat common threats. Among them are regional conflicts and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and cybercrime.

"All these challenges are global in nature, and they cannot be overcome without combining the efforts and potentials of all states," Putin said, adding that the Moscow Conference on International Security is organized to actively contribute to peace and stability, to the development of the constructive dialogue and partnership.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, over 700 military officials from more than 37 countries will take part in the work of the forum.