Taking the podium at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the era of a unipolar world order has come to an end despite attempts to preserve it at all costs.

"A year and a half ago, when speaking at the Davos Forum, it was stressed again that the era of the unipolar world order was over," the Russian head of state said, noting that now he also would like to begin his address with this, "there is no getting around this."

"[This era] is over despite all the attempts to revive it and hold on to it at any cost. This is a natural process, these changes are a natural course of history because it is difficult to combine the planet’s civilizational diversity, the wealth of cultures with political, economic and other models. These models don’t work here, the models that bluntly, without any alternatives, are being imposed upon from one center," the Russian leader added.

According to him, "the flaw lies in the very idea where there is a single, albeit strong power with a limited circle of close states, or, as they also say, those admitted to it, while all the rules of business and international relations, when necessary, are interpreted exclusively in the interests of this power, that is, it’s a one-way street."

"It’s a one-sided game. A world based on such dogmas is definitely unstable," the president concluded.

TASS