Venezuelan Vice President Jose Felix Rivas Alvarado highlighted that multipolarity was the focus of Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), speaking to Sputnik on the sidelines of the event. 

“It seems to me that one of the most important points in Putin’s speech was his view of the world, that one must not only look to the West, look for the West, as has been the case for centuries, but also make a turn and see that the East also exists," he said.

Rivas Alvarado stressed that this is how one can understand the multipolar world order.

The vice president explained that understanding multipolarity, which once seemed unattainable, involves recognizing the diverse pathways for development and progress, contrary to the previous perception of a singular route often leading to destruction.

Putin discusses US economy, multipolarity, Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed various topics on Friday during the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), including the diminishing reliance on the US dollar, the United States' neocolonial behavior stemming from its dominance of the global financial system, and the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. The forum, hosted by Russia, takes place from June 5th to 8th.

On multipolarity, Putin stressed that the US was "breaking its tool of greatness", amid few left, referring to the US dollar. He explained that the US actively blows other countries away from the dollar until they decide not to rely on it anymore. 

Putin then drew comparisons between the US and Russia, saying his nation has "never behaved like colonialists or neocolonialists [referring to the US]."  He said the US' current account trade deficit is a trillion dollars per year, which is tantamount to "neocolonialism in its modern edition." 

"Using the monopoly position of the dollar, the United States consumes a trillion dollars a year more than it produces, taking … these resources from other countries," he further stated, affirming that the US economy was shrinking in a way that harms countries that hold its currency, but also paves the way for a multipolar world. 

He further affirmed that Russia is not in a position to be colonialist because its position in the global financial system and its currency were not monopolistic.