Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in five multilateral summits in less than two weeks, starting with the meeting of the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and ending with the Group of twenty.
And all this without leaving Russia: because of the pandemic, these major international events were moved online, so Putin communicated with his SCO colleagues from his residence in Sochi and connected to the East Asian summit, BRICS, APEC and the G20 from Novo-Ogarevo.
Vaccine for everyone
Russia believes that the coronavirus vaccine should become the universal property of mankind, and is ready to work with all countries in this direction. Putin has voiced this position on all international platforms.
He also called on colleagues from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on November 10 and BRICS on November 17 to cooperate in order to establish mass production of drugs: "This requires certain financial resources and equipment. All of them. The substances necessary for the production of this medicine are at least available in Russia, and appear in other countries."
At the East Asian summit on November 14, the President noted that dozens of countries have already expressed their desire to establish cooperation in the production and supply of vaccines. At the same time, he stressed Moscow's readiness to supply tests for coronavirus abroad, "including on a free basis." More than 40 countries have already received more than a million tests, the Russian leader recalled.
Overcome the crisis
At the G20 summit on November 21, the President compared the economic crisis caused by the pandemic to the great depression and called for joint measures to overcome its consequences. "The main risk remains massive, long - term, so-called stagnant unemployment, followed by an increase in poverty and social unrest, and the role of the G20 here is to prevent this," Putin stressed. Another danger, he said, is the devaluation of national currencies, especially in low-income countries that are forced to service debts in dollars.
At the APEC summit on November 20, the Russian leader gave concrete examples. According to experts, he said, global GDP would fall by 4.4% in 2020. In Russia, the fall will be slightly less - its economy, as the authorities expect, will decrease by 3.9%.
According to Putin, economic development can be helped by "combining integration efforts" - this idea he voiced at the summit of East Asian countries. He recalled the Russian initiative to create the Greater Eurasian partnership, which was already supported by the SCO members.
Another possible measure is the so-called green corridors for the supply of food and medicine, primarily to countries in need. Russia put forward this idea in the spring. "We believe that this initiative would not only ease the humanitarian situation in the world but also develop global trade," - Putin said at the APEC summit on November 20.
New opportunities
"It is necessary to use the current crisis as an opportunity to change the trajectory of global development, preserve a favorable environment and climate, ensure equal conditions for all countries and peoples, strengthen effective mechanisms for multilateral cooperation and key international institutions, while relying on the UN Charter, generally accepted norms and principles of international law, "the Russian President told his G20 colleagues.
This is not the first time this thesis has been made - at a meeting of the Valdai discussion club on October 22, Putin suggested that the pandemic could become "a kind of reference point for <...> transformations" of the world order. At that time, he spoke first of all for the rejection of overconsumption in order to solve global environmental problems.
Cybersecurity
In 2020, Putin talked a lot about cybersecurity. This is not surprising, given how much human activity has gone online due to the pandemic.
The President expressed concern about the growing scale of cybercrime to his SCO colleagues and BRICS leaders, and called on the APEC States to think "about establishing <...> coordination on the protection of personal information and prevention of violations in the IT-sphere".
Strategic stability
At the SCO and BRICS summits, the Russian leader also raised the topic of strategic stability, which is becoming increasingly relevant in the light of the gradual "dismantling" of the existing arms control system, primarily at the initiative of the United States.
In the Declaration adopted at the end of the first of these meetings, members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization expressed concern about unilateral steps that undermine the mechanisms for maintaining global stability, drawing particular attention to the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty The BRICS leaders in the final document called on Moscow and Washington to agree on the extension of START-3, which expires in February 2021.
Putin reminded the participants of the East Asia summit of the moratorium on the deployment of Russian medium-and shorter-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region and stressed his readiness "to have a serious conversation on this issue with all interested States."
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS