Putin Only Leader to Participate in Valdai Discussion Club-Style Talks

Aside from Russian President Vladimir Putin, no other world leaders communicate with foreign political scientists and journalists in the same way as the format offered by the Valdai International Discussion Club, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, Putin took part in a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club where he spoke to political scientists and representatives of other states, as well as answering journalists’ questions.

"I would like to draw your attention to the words of yesterday's moderator [Robert] Legvold of Columbia University, who said that this is indeed a unique format for dialogue, and that virtually none of the heads of state in the world follow the same practice of communicating with foreign political scientists, as does President Putin," Peskov said.

Peskov noted that Putin "in detail communicated with our [Russian] and foreign journalists and the participants of the Valdai [International Discussion Club]."

The 12th annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club was held in the Russian city of Sochi. The forum aims to promote dialogue between the Russian and international intellectual community.