Putin’s View: ‘We’re All in the Same Boat’

Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in a session at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday. Photo.
Making his first appearance as Russian leader before the annual gathering of business and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin struck a conciliatory tone toward the West. He explicitly wished the new administration of President Obama well, and urged cooperation on energy security, the economy and even disarmament.

Mr. Putin used a 30-minute speech before a packed auditorium on Wednesday to paint Russia as a reliable partner in energy, trade and politics amid the widening global economic crisis.

“We can’t afford being isolationist or economically selfish,” Mr. Putin said. Describing the world financial crisis as a “perfect storm,” he added: “We are all in the same boat.”

The financial crisis has dealt a blow to the Russian swagger of recent years. When sky-high oil prices helped fill state coffers and return-hungry Western investors offered cheap loans, the Kremlin could more easily strike a proud, anti-Western tone and emphasize its new-found power after a decade of weakness following the Soviet collapse.

Mr. Putin’s speech, the official opening address of this year’s World Economic Forum, was eagerly awaited by those waiting to gauge whether the crisis would prompt Russia to turn further away from the West or open the door to a more cooperative relationship.

As recently as December, Mr. Putin still had harsh words for the United States. “The crisis began in the United States, whose financial and economic policies led to the crisis that infected the economies of practically all major countries of the world,” he said at the time, adding that the impact of the crisis on Russia would be “minimal.”

But he struck a different note on Wednesday, as he often has for Western audiences. Mr. Putin said he would not dwell on who was responsible for the crisis and talked instead about “mutual interests” and “mutual dependencies.”

“We hope that our partners in Europe, Asia and America — and I’m also addressing the new administration, we wish them well — I hope they will be willing to cooperate constructively,” he said.