ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will address issues pertaining to the special military operation during his keynote speech today at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Of course, it is impossible not to mention the special military operation, its impact on the economy and on international economic processes, which are in no way related to the special military operation and are developing according to their own trajectories, as well as about how, to put it mildly, we feel pretty good compared to other countries, including in the collective West, under conditions of a pre-crisis situation globally," the Kremlin spokesman told reporters.

According to Peskov, the countries of the collective West are now experiencing significant economic problems. "They are suffering, yes, their economic indicators in particular are suffering," he said, clarifying that "these numbers have nothing to do with emotions."

The spokesman pointed out that the Russian head of state's speech would focus largely on the economy. According to him, it will be an "economic overview" of the situation. "But the economy does not exist in isolation from overall political and geopolitical realities," the Kremlin spokesman pointed out.

Peskov did not say what aspects of Russia's economic development Putin would touch upon, but promised that presidential aide Maksim Oreshkin would hold a closed briefing for media executives on the main themes of the president's speech. The Kremlin spokesman noted that, "usually the [head of state’s] speeches at forums are drafted by this or that presidential aide, and in this case it is the work of Oreshkin." "Oreshkin will brief the media executives in private on the main themes to be covered in this speech; I will not pre-empt [him]," Peskov noted.

He clarified that an expert group within the presidential administration had been involved in drafting Putin's speech. "The president himself makes the primary contribution, and so the final version of the speech is now in the president’s hands; that’s the version he will deliver," the Kremlin spokesman pointed out.