OREANDA-NEWS Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that Russia and China will be able to use the Northern Sea Route in mutual interests.

"I am confident that we will establish joint work and actively use the Northern Sea Route in the interests of Russia and the People's Republic of China," Putin said at the plenary session of the XXIII annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

The Valdai International Discussion Club is an association of leading foreign and Russian experts in the fields of political science, economics, history, and international relations. The Club was established in September 2004 on the initiative of the RIA Novosti news Agency, the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Russia in Global Affairs and Russia Profile magazines. The club owes its name to the location of the first conference, which took place in Veliky Novgorod near Lake Valdai.