ST. PETERSBURG, June 4. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday will take part in the key event of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), plenary session, where he will traditionally give a speech and answer questions posed by the moderator. The Russian leader will also speak to heads of news agencies from across the world by videoconference later on Friday, the event is organized by TASS as part of SPIEF for the seventh time.

The SPIEF plenary session will also be attended by Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz by videoconference. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin’s speech could outline his vision of Russia’s development prospects.

The meeting with news agency heads provides an opportunity to speak freely without a fixed agenda to discuss current issues on the domestic and international agendas with the Russian leader. Putin himself earlier said that this unique format of talking with heads of largest international information agencies allows him to describe his position on fundamental issues of great interest. This year, heads of news agencies from Austria, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States will be attending the meeting, including heads of Reuters, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Xinhua, Yonhap News, Kyodo News and AFP. Russia will be represented at the meeting by TASS Director General Sergei Mikhailov.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, organized by Roscongress Foundation, is held on June 2-5. This year’s theme is Together again - Economy of New Reality.