ROME, September 3, RIA Novosti correspondent Sergei Startsev.
The Valdai International Discussion Club gives experts on Russia a chance to perform a complex and delicate operation every year – a kind of “hard drive update”, Orietta Moscatelli, head of the New Europe project at the Apcom news agency, Italy’s irreplaceable representative at the event, told RIA Novosti.
“The Valdai Club is a unique project in many respects. I do not think there are many similar specialized forums in the world, where participants have an annual opportunity to discuss important issues with the president, prime minister and government officials of a great country. I remember talking for five hours with Vladimir Putin four years ago, when it seemed we had covered everything we could. When an American colleague asked me about my impressions, I said, “If I had been meeting with George Bush, I would have had enough jokes to tell for the rest of my life.”
The Valdai forum is a chance to take a “panoramic shot” of Russia through a wide-angle lens, she added.
“This year, our club will gather, first and foremost, to discuss the future development of relations between Russia and the West. There are many aspects to this issue, such as Russia’s relations with NATO, the United States, the EU and the WTO. Interestingly, this meeting will take place exactly a year into the global economic downturn, which may continue to manifest itself harshly in Russia and other countries,” she went on.
Moscatelli also recalls last year’s meeting of Club members with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, where they discussed the economic crisis and the possible scenarios of its development.
“We know now that much has changed in global development trends since then, although many dramatic changes may still lie ahead. Consider the shift of influence from the G8 to the broader G20 forum, the IMF’s return to the international arena, and the growing role of rapidly emerging economies. These processes make a “reset” unavoidable in many regions,” the Italian journalist emphasized.
Moscatelli pointed out that the Valdai Club members would as before start with Russia, before discussing such landmark changes in the world. Russia is searching for ways to diversify its economy and consolidate its global role as more than just an energy superpower.
“The future of many countries, especially the former Soviet republics, is largely dependent on what path Russia chooses. But Europe and the United States also have to keep Russia in mind,” she said.
“On the whole, all the dossiers we are discussing are closely interrelated. For example, I am especially interested in the changes occurring in the so-called post-Soviet space, and the ensuing shifts in the global correlation of forces. In particular, what is happening in the Caucasus a year after the events in South Ossetia, as well as in other unstable zones from Moldova to Ukraine and from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan,” Moscatelli said.
