Munich speech of Vladimir Putin


The Munich speech of Vladimir Putin was a speech by Russian leader Vladimir Putin given in Germany on 10 February 2007 at the Munich Security Conference.
Putin used the speech to express significant points of the future direction of politics as it would be directed in Russia by himself. In subsequent years it received descriptions in the Russian press such as "iconic" and "prophetic". It is considered in the West to be the first milestone of the Russia–NATO confrontation.

Synopsis

Putin criticized what he called the United States' monopolistic dominance in global relations, and its "almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations". The speech came to be known, especially in Russia, as the Munich speech. He said the result of such dominance was that,

Response

In response, former NATO secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called it, "disappointing and not helpful." The months following the Munich speech were marked by tension and a surge in rhetoric on both sides of the Atlantic, though both Russian and American officials, however, denied the idea of a new Cold War.
Putin publicly opposed plans for the U.S. missile shield in Europe, and presented President George W. Bush with a counter proposal on 7 June 2007 which was declined. Russia suspended its participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe on 11 December 2007 because:

Follow-ups

Putin later made other speeches that were called follow-ups to the Munich speech. These include: