MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his confidence that most countries share the ideas of the Russian World in his greeting to the participants of the 16th Russian World Assembly held in Moscow from November 1 to 4.

"The concept of the Russian World has always been a strong and appealing idea because of its openness and respect for all traditional customs and cultures. Today we see that most countries and peoples share such approaches. They reject any form of neocolonialism, racism, and Russophobia. On the contrary, they demonstrate a willingness to contribute to humanitarian cooperation and establish an equal dialogue while taking mutual interests into consideration," the Russian president noted.

The theme of the current event is the Spiritual and Moral Values of the Russian World. "The main theme of this forum shows our sincere desire to preserve unshakeable spiritual and moral values and traditions that unite us and help us achieve our goals," Putin emphasized.

The Russian president drew attention to the fact that "well-known politicians and prominent public figures, teachers of Russian language and literature, scientists, journalists, diplomats, representatives of religious, volunteer, and youth-serving organizations, and true friends of Russia from various countries" are taking part in the event. Putin expects them to discuss "a wide range of topical issues related to the popularization of both Russian literature and language and fostering its information space."

The Russian leader is confident that "the participants of the forum will pay special attention to the matter of preserving historical memory and truth about the Soviet people’s feat of victory over Nazism and saving the future of all mankind" in anticipation of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, which will be celebrated in 2025.