Some cogent, and I think, very important commentary on the Valdai conference speech:

Some cogent, and I think, very important commentary on the Valdai conference speech:
In the face of multiple mainstream sites ranting about this speech as though Putin was a crazed maniac… here’s the transcript of it. Just sayin…
The Vineyard of the Saker: Putin's speech at the Valdai Club – full transcript.
This is a very important discussion with Putin. The audience question and answer period has some *very* interesting questions and answers, with questioners from all over the world. It’s very long, and worth every minute.
And a transcript is being generated here.
I have been following the mess in Ukraine for a few months, and investigating what I can about Russia, and all this time I’ve been baffled as to where the evidence is that Putin is anything like the way he’s portrayed in the west. The following is written by an American that’s met him, worked with many officials that have worked with him, and collected all of their stories. See what she says:
This is pretty nice for somebody supposedly bent on conquering the Ukraine:
President Putin has called on the self-defense militias in Ukraine to provide Kiev’s military units blocked in the east of the country with a safe humanitarian corridor to cross into Russia.“It is obvious that the militia has reached a considerable success in curbing Kiev’s military operation, that had been a deadly threat to the population of Donbass and already led to heavy casualties among civilians,†the Russian leader said in a statement.As a result of militias’ counter-offense, large numbers of Ukrainian troops – many of whom were taking part in Kiev’s so-called anti-terrorist operation “against their will†and “just following orders†– have been surrounded, the President added.“I urge the militias to open a humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian troops that were surrounded, in order to avoid meaningless victims and provide them with the opportunity to freely withdraw from the battlefield area, to be reunited with their families, to return to their mothers, wives and children,†Putin said.Russia is ready and will provide aid to Ukraine’s regions suffering from a humanitarian disaster, the Russian leader added according to the Kremlin’s press service.