Despite the fact that the topics Putin will bring up in the speech have not been made public, he is very likely to touch upon the most pressing issues facing the world today, including Syria, ISIL and Ukraine.
Sputnik made up a list of the most remarkable quotes by Vladimir Putin in the last year.
On Syria
The situation in Syria is surely a hot topic of today's news. Western media have repeatedly blamed Bashar al-Assad for the ongoing crisis. And here is what Vladimir Putin thinks about it:
"Of course, we know that there have been different opinions on the situation in Syria. By the way, the refugees are not fleeing from Bashar Assad’s regime. They are fleeing from ISIL militants who have seized large territories in Syria and Iraq. People are fleeing from ISIL’s atrocities," Vladimir Putin said during the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok.
President Putin has repeatedly voiced Russia's support of legitimate president Assad:
"We support the Syrian government in confronting terrorist aggression. We have been providing and will continue to provide the necessary military and technical assistance to the Syrian government and urge other countries to join us," he said at a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization underway in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe.
Putin has also called for maintaining an open dialogue with Syrian opposition to solve crisis:
"And there is no other solution to the Syrian crisis than strengthening the effective government structures and offering them help in the fight against terrorism. But at the same time, urging them to engage in positive dialogue with the rational opposition and conduct reform," Putin said in an interview with CBS News "60 Minutes".
Vladimir Putin has also proposed to create an international coalition to fight terrorism in Syria:
"We are taking specific steps, and doing it publicly. If you are interested in the details, I can tell you that we do want to create some kind of an international coalition to fight against terrorism and extremism. We are holding talks with our American partners," Putin said at the EEF.
And he never gave up on supporting Syria:
"We are already providing Syria with fairly strong support with technology and the training of military servicemen," the Russian President said during the EEF.
On Relations Between Russia and the US
Vladimir Putin has once expressed disappointment with the US' foreign policy:
"Our Western partners, especially in Washington, are in a state of euphoria. Instead of building up friendly relations they began exploring new and, as they believe, free geopolitical areas," Putin said at the 2015 International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg.
The president also reminded that global problems have deep roots:
"The Cold War is provoked not by local conflicts but by global decisions, like the US unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Indeed, this is a step that is pushing us toward a new round in the arms race as it is challenging the global security system," the President said during SPIEF 2015.
But he still believes Russia and the United States have common ground for cooperation:
"We have common understanding with all the participants of this process, including the US, and with European nations, and, I hope, with Iran that we are strongly against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. This is our principal stance. This is why we could effectively work with the US on the issue," Putin said.
On Ukraine
Speaking about the Ukrainian crisis, Vladimir Putin keeps repeating that it is necessery to implement the Minsk agreements:
"Concerning the implementation of the Minsk agreements, in my opinion, there are no alternatives to it. Most importantly, direct contact between Kiev forces and the authorities of Donetsk and Lugansk needs to established in order to implement the Minsk deal," Putin told journalists.
President Putin has insisted that dialogue between Kiev and Donbass is needed:
"I want to emphasize that the amendments to the constitution of Ukraine are stipulated in the Minsk agreements, but they must be implemented in the course of talks and dialogue, in coordination with the representatives of Donbass, the territories of the unrecognized DPR and LPR republics," Putin said commenting on amendments to the Ukrainian constitution to grant more autonomy to Donbass.
"Unfortunately, nothing like that [such a dialogue] is happening," Putin said, stressing that Kiev-Donbass dialogue is crucial for the reconciliation in Ukraine.
He believes that the Ukrainian crisis settlement completely depends on the Ukrainian people:
"It doesn't depend on us, it depends on the patience of Ukraine, of the Ukrainian people — how long the Ukrainian people are willing to endure this chaos," the Russian President said in response to a question on his prediction of how the events in Ukraine may develop further.
