The 2007 speech by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the Munich Security Conference was one for the ages.
Concepts mentioned therein are only now getting acknowledged:
It is well known that international security comprises much more than issues relating to military and political stability. It involves the stability of the global economy, overcoming poverty, economic security and developing a dialogue between civilisations.This universal, indivisible character of security is expressed as the basic principle that “security for one is security for all”.
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The unipolar world that had been proposed after the Cold War did not take place either.
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It is world in which there is one master, one sovereign. And at the end of the day this is pernicious not only for all those within this system, but also for the sovereign itself because it destroys itself from within.
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There is no reason to doubt that the economic potential of the new centres of global economic growth will inevitably be converted into political influence and will strengthen multipolarity.
Eighteen years later the new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the fact of a multipolar world. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demolished any hope for Ukraine to enter NATO. Donald Trump, by calling President Putin, accepted the concept of a shared if not yet indivisible security. In 2007 Putin also spoke out against the abuse of so called NGOs to manipulate foreign countries’ internal policies. Trump has now stopped USAID and NED from financing these.
Eighteen years on the core concepts of Putin’s speech have thus been accepted.
Yesterday another speech at the Munich Security Conference was given by U.S. Vice-President JD Vance (video, transcript). It will also echo for years to come:
