SOCHI, October 2. /TASS/. Radhika Desai, Professor at the Department of Political Studies of the University of Manitoba, told TASS that she is curious to hear what Russian President Vladimir Putin says about alternatives to the dollar system at the plenary session of the 22nd annual meeting of the Valdai international discussion club.

The Russian government prepared a detailed report before the BRICS summit in Kazan, which "pointed very knowledgeably to the problems of the dollar system," Desai noted. "I feel that progress towards an alternative system has been slow. So I wonder if he [Putin] will say something about that," the professor said.

Academics are also very interested in the creation of new institutions of global control and the roles of such associations as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS in the evolving polycentric world, Desai stressed.

"We definitely are living in a world where the old structures are crumbling. And the possibility of creating new structures is enormous. So how will Russia position itself in this field where there are both problems but also huge opportunities?" she noted.

International conflicts will certainly be a topic of interest at the forthcoming plenary session as well, the expert said. "I would be very interested in what he [President Putin], of course, what he will say about Ukraine. This is the biggest issue. I would also be interested in what he will say about Europe, et cetera, what he says about the United States, what he says about the increasing closeness between Russia and China," she added.

The annual meeting of the Valdai club is being held in Sochi from September 29 to October 2.