Putin Says No Need for Russia to Withdraw from UN, UNESCO

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the possibility of Russia leaving UNESCO during a cultural forum in St. Petersburg.

Putin said: "I think there is no such need. Why? It's a platform where people talk, work. We have quite serious projects that are being implemented through UNESCO. I don't see a need for that."

He added: "Some say we need to leave the UN, it's total nonsense. Because Russia is a founder of the organization. Why would we leave it?"

During his speech, the Russian president expressed that he believes that international organizations were created after the global changes after World War II.

He explained: "The situation is, of course, changing. And it has changed seriously. New centers of power, new centers of growth have appeared and are appearing in the world. The tendencies are obvious, you understand, the tendencies are obvious. For example, the United Kingdom was recently the world's fourth largest economy, and now it is, I think, the tenth or ninth. It's not because some events are happening in Russian-Ukrainian relations. Not at all! These are objective tendencies in the world's development. Russia now has a bigger parity of buying capacity than the Federal Republic of Germany. The tendencies have just changed cardinally, and they are increasing and will change."

"In accordance with these tendencies, in accordance with the changed world, international organizations, the UN and all other agencies, of course, need to be adjusted for it," he added.