Well, considering the text itself (and leaving apart one's feelings about the person speaking it): it does contain some valid points and interesting ideas -- ab

Well, considering the text itself (and leaving apart one's feelings about the person speaking it): it does contain some valid points and interesting ideas -- about leveraging the "Yalta system" and the "anti-Hitler coalition"; and about the need to get beyond "bloc thinking" -- and raises valid criticism about American-led efforts to support various insurgencies in the region (and the damage caused by going outside, rather than through the international system). One could almost imagine some peaceful, alternate universe with the leader of genuinely democratic and non-aggressive (but still not necessarily western-oriented) Russia saying such things to the General Assembly, in so many words. But this is Vladimir Putin we're dealing with, after all, and the current historical context matters greatly. And it all unravels pretty quickly, for example on line 3: But I remind you that the key decisions on the principles guiding the cooperation among states, as well as on the establishment of the United Nations, were made in our country, in Yalta, at the meeting of the anti-Hitler coalition leaders. Right there, he's basically "gaslighting"† us -- blatantly attempting to fuck with our minds by asking us to accept that Yalta is a part of his nation's territory, completely side-stepping the issue of its forceful annexation less than 2 years previously, and the rather profound insult to the international system and the concept of rule of law that action caused -- while attempting to lecture on the importance of respecting established precedent and working through the international system. So like, right there -- a huge, steaming pile of WTF, right there on the Assembly floor. But rather than stop there, he keeps piling it higher and deeper: Whatever actions any state might take bypassing [UN] procedure are illegitimate. Like for example own pet insurgency movement in a certain neighboring country whose name starts with the letter U, the existence of which he also continues to attempt to deny most of the time (except when he obliquely praises it). With all the completely unnecessary and avoidable bloodshed and other human suffering that has gone with it. (to be continued) † https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting