WATCH Putin’s Valdai speech

The Russian president spoke about the emerging multipolar world order

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered the keynote address at the plenary session of the 21st annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday.

Russia does not consider Western civilization an enemy, but calls to inflict “strategic defeat” on Moscow amount to “extreme adventurism,” Putin said in the speech. The world is irreversibly moving towards a multipolar order, which is only threatened by the “violent anarchy” promoted by the West in an attempt to maintain its hegemony, he also said.

Thursday’s plenary session was titled ‘Security for Everyone. Together – Into a New World’. This year’s Valdai meeting is taking place under the motto ‘A Lasting Peace – On What Basis? Universal Security and Equal Opportunities for Development in the 21st Century’.