The collective West’s efforts to isolate Russia have failed, as shown by the international turnout at this year’s Valdai Discussion Club, University of Kent professor emeritus of politics Richard Sakwa has told RT.

The 23rd annual session of the Valdai Discussion Club opened outside of Moscow on Monday, bringing together 120 participants from 40 countries. They include representatives from China, Brazil, Argentina, Algeria, Egypt, India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Türkiye, as well as the US, UK, Germany, Italy, France, and Canada.

Panel discussions will run through Thursday, October 1.

In an interview with RT on Monday, Sakwa noted that even more participants from Western countries are attending this year’s Valdai session than in recent years.

“Russia remains far from isolated” despite Western governments’ efforts to sideline it on the global stage since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, he said.

Russia continues to play an active role in the G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and is a founding member of BRICS, which has expanded to 11 countries representing “nearly half the world’s population [and] about half the world’s GDP,” Sakwa explained.

Forums such as the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Primakov Readings, and the Valdai Discussion Club also continue to attract international interest, including from Western expert communities.

“If anyone is isolated, it’s more and more the West… and the world is getting on with trying to establish an agenda for peace and development,” the British political scientist told RT.

Describing the broader global shift, Sakwa argued that while the world remains within the post-WWII framework, “the institutions and patterns which have emerged after 1945 are changing,” along with the roles of major powers such as the US and Russia.