Russian President Vladimir Putin is delivering his annual keynote to the Valdai discussion club international forum, outside Moscow.
Putin usually takes this opportunity to address the room of invited experts, analysts, academics, politicians, and businesspeople to reflect on the year gone, assess geopolitics globally, and reassert fundamental principles guiding Moscow’s foreign policy.
This year, we can expect some reflections on the emerging multipolar world, particularly in terms of strengthening ties with China and India, and the notable success of the ASEAN Summit in Kazan in June.
Putin’s speech will be followed by a Q&A session, where some of the world’s top Russia analysts and Russia-focused academics can put questions to the Russian president. Previously he has issued warnings about nuclear risks, told oligarch jokes, and “confessed” to being behind the phantom drone spectre that haunted Western Europe last year.
More seriously, Putin has used the Valdai speeches to consolidate and refine key points of Russian policy, from a warning to the West after his Munich Security Conference speech in 2007, through to a declaration of a new world order in 2014, to drawing explicit red lines in policy and conflict escalation thresholds in 2025.
Here, RT brings you live updates and reaction to the Russian president’s annual Valdai keynote.
01 October 2026
What is the Valdai Discussion Club?
For those who are unfamiliar with the Valdai Discussion Club, here’s a bit of background on why its annual forum is such a significant part of the calendar for anyone interested in Russia and its foreign policy direction:
• The Valdai Discussion Club was set up in 2004 and takes its name from Lake Valdai near Veliky Novgorod – the site of the club’s first meeting.
• Symbolizing the club’s importance, Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the officials to attend that first gathering more than 20 years ago. This year’s forum is the 23d annual Valdai gathering.
• In 2014, management of the club was taken over by the Valdai Club Foundation, under the auspices of Russian think tank the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, the Russian International Affairs Council, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and the Higher School of Economics.
Putin’s address comes amid escalating rhetoric from European NATO members, particularly after Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski recently proposed to deploy additional troops near Russia’s Kaliningrad Region so that Moscow would be “uncertain of what we will do.”
Putin has since ordered all relevant Russian agencies to take the necessary measures to ensure the security of the exclave, according to presidential aide Nikolay Patrushev.
The topic of this year’s Valdai forum is “Responsibility for the Future: Limits of the Possible or Unlimited Possibility?” Vladimir Putin’s speech is expected to draw parallels to his historic 2014 address about the collapse of the unipolar world and his 2025 Valdai speech about the rise of multipolarity and the need to shift to agreements based on mutual respect between countries.
Participants from 40 countries are attending this year’s Valdai forum, with about 60% of attendees coming from foreign states, including the UK, Germany, USA, France, Iran, India, China, Brazil, Türkiye, South Africa, Japan, and others.
Putin’s upcoming speech at the Valdai plenary session is one of several annual addresses that is eagerly awaited by “the whole world,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
He stated that Putin will begin his address after 4:00 PM Moscow time.
After the event, the president is expected to meet with Russia’s chief rabbi, Berel Lazar, and the president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, Aleksandr Boroda.