Terrorism was the main threat to human rights and economic development and the United Nations must take the lead in co-ordinating the fight against it, the Russian president told the second day of the World Summit in New York.
Vladimir Putin said the world body had to alter its approach from one of settling disputes between states to becoming the chief co-ordinating organisation for the international anti-terrorist campaign.
"There is a need to adjust this organisation to the new historical reality," he said. "Who else will take the role of co-ordinating and organising this work but the UN?" Although the final draft declaration for the summit dropped a proposal to have an agreed international legal definition of terrorism, the topic has been a primary focus in speeches from Mr Putin as well as US president George Bush and British prime minister Tony Blair.
Earlier Mr Blair told the summit: "United Nations must come of age." While admitting that the draft declaration was less ambitious than many would have liked, he cautioned: "No summit requiring unanimity from 191 nations can be more than modest." But if the commitments agreed were actually implemented, "there would be more democracy. Less oppression. More freedom. Less terrorism. More growth. Less poverty".
"The effect would be measured in the lives of millions of people who will never hear these speeches or read our statements, but it would be the proper vocation of political leadership - and the UN would live up to its name.
"So let's do it," Mr Blair said.
Netherlands prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende challenged other countries to join the handful that have committed themselves to meeting the UN target of allocating 0.7 per cent of their gross national product for overseas aid.
He also warned of the danger that the Millennium Development Goals for reducing poverty and disease would not be met under present circumstances. "The shortfalls are serious. Nothing less than an extra $50-$60 billion must be raised every year."
Shortly after his Dutch counterpart spoke, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern committed Ireland to achieving the 0.7 per cent target by 2012. "Ireland will spend up to €8 billion helping to tackle poverty and alleviate poverty in some of the world's poorest countries. By any standards this is a huge commitment on behalf of the Irish people." On the UN's role, he said: "The threats and challenges we face are interconnected and must be confronted together by all nations. To do this, there is no alternative to strengthening the United Nations, whose Charter provides a global framework for the pursuit of economic and social progress, and legitimacy for action in support of peace and security."
Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, told the General Assembly that aid to developing nations had suffered a "significant and clearly calculated decline" in recent years.
Urging UN reform, he said: "Organs of the United Nations including the Security Council must be restructured to reflect the full will of nations great or small." Mr Mugabe defended his land seizure policies, saying Zimbabwe had committed itself to "addressing extreme poverty and hunger by redistributing land."
Irish rock singer Sir Bob Geldof, meanwhile, criticised world leaders for failing to make monumental pledges on debt, trade and development aid.
"I'm not thrilled," Geldof told a joint news conference with Mr Blair at UN headquarters.
"We have actually seen a clawback on the language on trade at Gleneagles." Geldof said the UN summit had failed to give new impetus to meeting those objectives on alleviating poverty and disease. "If that was the benchmark, then I feel a sense of disappointment. . . it was suborned by other factors," he said.
Geldof earlier welcomed a proposal made by Mr Bush during his summit speech on Wednesday for a universal lifting of tariffs and trade subsidies. "I think he's really throwing down the gauntlet. It's a very bold move," he said.