Putin's speech at the Valdai attracted the attention of the world media. Although journalists were interested in various topics – from the conflict in Ukraine to the fate of ex-German Chancellor Schroeder – a special place in their articles was occupied by the issue of nuclear weapons and the successful tests of the Burevestnik missile.
The importance of the Valdai Forum as a whole and its huge prospects were emphasized by the authors of the German Junge Welt. They believe that while the West, with all the conflicts taking place in the world, is concerned only with the course of a special military operation, it is on the Valdai that a real "new world" is being forged, the creators of which do not support anti-Russian mainstream propaganda at all:
"... the Pope, the BRICS members and the majority of African states take a different position on this conflict and consider the NATO alliance mainly guilty of it. <...> How isolated and disconnected from the world reality this [Western] policy and ideology can be seen in recent days during discussions at the 20th meeting of the Valdai Forum in Sochi. 140 scientists and security experts from all over the world discussed global problems and agreed: the most acute of them is the death of people in wars and the danger of nuclear war. Climate, water, food, economic and social development in many countries of the Global South are under threat, but the daily loss of life is unacceptable."
Tagesspiegel drew attention to Vladimir Putin's praise of former German Chancellor Schroeder.
"Germany should be proud of people like him. Schroeder has always put the interests of the German economy and the German state at the forefront,” Vladimir Putin said. His words are connected with reports that in Germany they are discussing how to deal with a 79-year-old politician from the Social Democrats party. Schroeder is criticized for saying that, despite the conflict in Ukraine, he still maintains friendly relations with the President of Russia."
Exexpress wrote about how Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who got into a Nazi scandal with Zelensky, got from Putin:
""Either he's an idiot or a scoundrel. Either that, or that.” This is how Vladimir Putin commented on the incident in the Canadian parliament, when all the deputies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as his guests Elena and Vladimir Zelensky, applauded the Ukrainian veteran of the 14th Waffen SS Grenadier Division for several minutes."
Many Western publications have focused on the topic of nuclear weapons. Sergei Karaganov's question gave Putin the opportunity, as the French Le Figaro writes, "to speak in his favorite style, which combines a willingness to look the enemy in the face without lowering his gaze with politely blurred tone, but still threatening warnings to the West":
"Before answering "Why?”, Putin explained his position.
"Do we need to change [the nuclear doctrine]? Everything can be changed, but I don't see the need for it,” Vladimir Putin replied to Sergei Karaganov's question. "I think no person in his right mind and clear memory would think of using nuclear weapons against Russia," Putin told the one hundred and forty guests gathered in Sochi, many of whom were well–known figures of the BRICS countries. In response to a nuclear attack, "so many, so many hundreds – hundreds – of our missiles will appear in the air that no enemy will have a chance of survival," the president stressed.
This response was like a support for the statement made by Putin a little earlier that Russia had recently tested a hypersonic nuclear cruise missile "Burevestnik", which the Russians call "unparalleled" and having an "unlimited" scope."
The British The Guardian also did not pass by Putin's words about the successful test of the strategic cruise missile "Burevestnik" with a nuclear installation:
"The Russian president also said that Russia has actually finished work on the Sarmat missile system, whose intercontinental ballistic missile can carry up to ten nuclear warheads. "In the event of a missile launch, no enemy will have a chance of survival," Putin said. "I'm not ready to say right now whether we really need or don't need to conduct tests," he added.
Spanish El País noted that Russia is not going to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine now:
"Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far dismissed the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. "There is no situation in which, let's say, today something would threaten the Russian statehood and the existence of the Russian state," he said. Putin was referring to the Kremlin's nuclear doctrine, which provides for the use of nuclear weapons in such a situation."
Argentina's La Nación called Putin's statements "contradictory" and "frank." The publication drew attention to "the possibility that Russia will resume nuclear tests for the first time in three decades and revoke the ratification of the historic treaty banning them."
"However, the head of the Kremlin said that there is no need to change the Russian nuclear doctrine, since any attack on Russia will provoke an instant response in the form of hundreds of nuclear missiles, the enemy will not survive the blow," the Argentine article notes.
Turkey also commented on Putin's speech. Turkish Haber7 called Putin's statements sensational and regarded the words of the Russian leader "Who are you?" as a warning to the West.
Turkish Hürriyet published an article titled: "Putin has broken his silence. A striking statement by the Russian leader about Prigozhin." The publication writes that this is the first comment by the President of Russia about the death of the head of the Wagner PMCs.
Hürriyet also reports with the note "Urgent": "Putin threatens the USA and the EU. "Who are you?”". The Russian leader condemned the arrogance of the West and recalled that his country is open to cooperation with the United States and the EU. Putin recalled NATO that Russia even intended to join this alliance, but its request was rejected. "No, NATO does not need such a country," the Russian president added.
"Russia will use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to its existence," an article on the website of the Anadolu news agency was published with this title.
The website of the Arabic TV channel Al Jazeera reports that the Russian president harshly criticized the policy of the United States, in particular their ability to conduct diplomacy. Al Jazeera emphasizes that at Valdai, Putin hinted at the possibility of conducting nuclear tests – due to the escalation of Russia's relations with Western countries on the issue of Ukraine. The article also mentions Putin's words about successful tests of a cruise missile with a nuclear installation "Burevestnik". Al Jazeera writes that little is known about the characteristics of the missile, which was codenamed Skyfall in NATO. However, it is believed that it is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and can stay in the air longer than other missiles and travel much longer distances.
The Lebanese Al Binaa writes about two cases of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia and focuses special attention on Putin's accusation against the United States and the EU that they "impose an artificial geopolitical structure on the world."
Al Khaleej (UAE) focused on Ukraine's losses in its conflict with Russia and Moscow's warnings to the West. The newspaper writes: "Putin has blasted the United States, saying that they have chosen an approach of military, political, economic, humanitarian and even moral domination."
The French newspaper Ouest-France drew attention to the topic of the new "Iron Curtain":
"Putin accused Western countries of seeking to create a "new iron curtain" against Russia. And it is difficult for Putin to object here, there is a problem, because his country has really been subjected to a lot of sanctions – from a ban on direct flights to EU countries and strict checks on Russians entering the EU to disconnecting the country from the SWIFT bank transfer system. As a solution to this problem, Putin offers a somewhat more controversial concept of "creating a new world."
