OREANDA-NEWS Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the plenary session of the annual meeting of the Valdai Club on Thursday, October 5. This was reported to journalists by the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov.

"The day after tomorrow," the Kremlin spokesman said, answering a question about the date of the president's speech at the Valdai Forum. According to him, the event is expected in the middle of the day.

The Valdai Forum brings together Russian and foreign experts specializing in research in the field of politics, economics and the cultural and humanitarian sphere. The current XX meeting of the international discussion club is being held in Sochi on October 2-5. The theme of this year's conference is "Fair multipolarity: how to ensure security and development for all."

Putin has been meeting with Valdai experts every year since the club was founded in 2004 (it got its name from the venue of the first conference in a Novgorod hotel near Lake Valdai). Last year, the meeting with the participation of the President lasted over 3.5 hours. As a rule, at the beginning the head of state gives an extensive keynote speech, and then answers numerous questions from the club members.