Putin’s 5,006-word goading rant as he claims ‘West has completely failed to punish us’

A very animated Vladimir Putin gave a wild ranting speech during the 22nd annual gathering of the Valdia Discussin Club in Sochi, and he didn’t hold back when talking about the West

Vladimir Putin has goaded the West – again. During a wild and slightly unhinged rant at the latest gathering of the Vladai Discussion Club in Sochi yesterday, Putin took shots at . . . well . . . everyone.

The speech – the 22nd annual gathering of the group – saw Putin casually sitting in an armchair where he ranted for more words than the Kremlin’s own website can publish.

But of the 5,006 words that it did publish, before stating “to be continued”, Putin claimed that the post-Cold War era was dominated by the West’s “temptation of absolute power,” leading to a liberal world order where others were “relieved of responsibility” and expected to conform.

And, he said, when talking about sanctions placed on Russia: “I think it goes without saying for everyone present here: these efforts have completely failed. Russia has demonstrated to the world the highest degree of resilience, the ability to withstand the most powerful external pressure that could have broken not just one country but an entire coalition of states.

“And in this regard, we feel a legitimate pride. Pride for Russia, for our citizens, and for our Armed Forces.

“The global balance cannot be built without Russia: neither the economic balance nor the strategic balance, nor the cultural or logistical one. None at all

“I believe those who tried to destroy all of this have begun to realise it. Some, however, still try stubbornly to achieve their goal: to inflict, as they say, a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia.”

Putin also talked about other global conflicts, such as the one in the Middle East between Israel and the Hamas terror group.

Earlier this week, United States President Donald Trump announced a peace plan agreed to by everyone . . . while the answer from Hamas is yet to come.

And musing over the issue, Putin appeared to approve of Trump’s plan.

He said: “(This) cannot be settled following the recipes of the lopsided Western diplomacy grossly ignoring the history, traditions, identity and culture of the peoples living there. Neither it helps to stabilise the situation in the Middle East in general that is, on the contrary, rapidly degrading.

“Now we are getting acquainted in greater detail with President Trump’s initiatives. It seems to me that some light at the end of the tunnel may still appear in this case.”

And comparing it to his invasion of Ukraine, he claimed: “The Ukraine tragedy is a horrifying example as well. It is a pain for Ukrainians and Russians, for all of us.

“The reasons for the Ukraine conflict are known to anyone who has taken the trouble to look into the background of its current, most acute phase. I will not go over them again.

“I am sure everyone in this audience is well aware of them and of my stance on this issue, which I have articulated many times.”

The entire speech was accompanied by very animated Putin, who was in full “human emoji” mode, as has become his thing in recent months.

If you fancy reading the entire rant, it’s available on the Kremlin’s website . . . well, most of it is anyway.

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.