MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. The West attempted to destroy Russia despite the country's years-long attempt to integrate into Western civilization, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

"I want to point out that despite many years of attempts by the new Russia [authorities] to become part of the so-called Western civilization, they [the West] actually did everything to isolate and further dismantle the Russian Federation itself," Putin said at the 23nd annual session of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

According to the Russian president, despite all the internal political changes that have taken place in Russia, the West still viewed it as a key part of the historical Russian Empire.

"This notion is still being raised at various events and gatherings focusing on the motto that 'We need to finish dismantling the Empire,' " Putin added.

President Putin is taking part in a plenary session of the 23rd annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled "Responsibility for the Future: Limits of the Possible or Possibilities Without Limits?"

The club’s flagship conference brings together 120 participants from 40 countries, including Algeria, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Pakistan, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Putin has been taking part in the club’s meetings since its establishment in 2004. The first conference was held in Veliky Novgorod, near Lake Valdai, which gave its name to the event. Since 2014, the club’s meetings had been held in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, but this year the Valdai session has been relocated to the Moscow Region as it is more convenient for most of its participants to get to Moscow.