The 15th Annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club completed its work in Sochi.
Four days ago 130 experts from 33 countries of the world gathered in search of the elusive truth. Six thematic and four special sessions, meetings with government officials and cultural figures – the program was rich, the issues, raised during the discussions, were urgent. Traditionally the results were summed up at the plenary session with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to the audience, he noted that
“We, in Russia and globally, are failing to respond to the changes in the world. It means that we are not creating useful, interesting and essential content for young people, and they turn to surrogate heroism”, presidential webpage reports.
As he put it,
“We are not afraid of anything. Given our territory, our defense system, and our people that are ready to fight for independence and sovereignty – the willingness of our men and women to give up their lives for their country is not common among all nations. Nobody can change these things, and this makes us certain that we can feel secure”.
Speaking of the international tensions of the present, the president stated that:
“We are prepared and will use nuclear weapons only when we know for certain that some potential aggressor is attacking Russia, our territory.”