Vladimir Putin has once again pulled out his favourite conspiracy theory in a new interview with a Chinese outlet to bash the West.
Speaking to news agency Xinhua last night, the Russian president said: “Earth is the cradle of humanity, our common home, and we are all equal as its inhabitants.
“I am convinced that this view is shared by most people on the planet.
“However, the countries that affiliate themselves with the so-called ‘golden billion’ do not seem to think so.”
According to NPR, the “golden billion” is a conspiracy theory that Putin has often referred to in his public speeches, although it dates back to the last few years of the Soviet Union.
The theory claims there is a secret faction of one billion global elites looking to hoard the world’s money and resources, while depriving everyone else.
Putin has regularly deployed this theory as a means to attack the West, and has previously described the supposed plot of the “golden billion” as “racist and neocolonial in its essence”.
Putin, an authoritarian leader who held a sham presidential election in March after eliminating all feasible opponents, is reportedly very wealthy, although it’s not clear how he has made his millions.
The Russian president also told the Chinese outlet that Moscow and its partners “reject Western attempts to impose an order based on lies and hypocrisy, on some mythical rules of no one knows whose making”.
He said: “We advocate for the primacy of international law, equal, indivisible, comprehensive and sustainable security at both the global and regional level with the UN’s central coordinating role.”
Putin overlooked his own role in causing international disruption by invading Ukraine more than two years ago in a conflict he rarely acknowledges as a fully-blown war.
The UN has openly criticised Russia’s illegal invasion, accusing Moscow of “unspeaking suffering and destruction”.
Naturally, Putin also took a direct pop at the US in his interview, saying: “US-led Western elites refuse to respect civilisational and cultural diversity and reject centuries-old traditional values.”
The interview was published just before Putin’s state visit to China, which the president called Russia’s “good neighbour and trusted friend”.