Before Putin's speech at the Valdai Discussion Club, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian President's speech "probably will have to be analyzed, studied, read and re-read for many days." The Russia 24 TV channel broadcasted Putin's speech.

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to criticize Western policies.

The relevant statements were made during his speech at the Valdai discussion club.

“For the survival of Western civilization, the entire planet is necessary as an environment for existence. The West considers everyone to be second-class people, and itself as exceptional. This has been going on for centuries. The West claims all the resources of mankind,” Putin said and criticized the “cancellation culture”: “any alternative point of view is declared in the West as subversive propaganda and a threat to democracy, everywhere they see the machinations of the Kremlin. Even at the height of the Cold War, it never occurred to anyone to deny the existence of the culture and art of their opponents."

"True democracy is when every nation chooses its own path. Traditional values, unlike neoliberal ones, cannot be imposed on anyone, because everyone's traditions are different. If the West wants to have dozens of genders and gay parades, let them do whatever they want. We do not climb into someone else's yard. But attempts to bring everyone under one template are doomed. Russia is not going to become a hegemon. And the West is destroying local production in all countries. The philosopher Zinoviev said 20 years ago that the West needs all the resources of mankind to survive. They are not shy about anything."

He also recalled the Americans' assassination of Iranian General Soleimani in early 2020.

“They just went crazy. They killed Qasem Soleimani an Iranian general. They killed him and said yes, we killed him. What is it all about? Where do we live?” Putin asked.