Vladimir Poetin - Redevoeringen

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9 december 2022

News conference following the visit to Kyrgyzstan

Concluding his working visit to Kyrgyzstan, the President answered journalists’ questions

Bishkek

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.

Please, go ahead.

Maria Sidibe, RIA Novosti: The EAEU is finishing the year with excellent growth numbers across the board, and I wanted to know what you attribute this to, because the global economy is in a tight spot and more sanctions are being imposed. Where do these numbers come from?

What do you think about the outcome of today's meeting? Also, what will become of the EAEU as we go forward? What are your near- and medium-term forecasts?

Vladimir Putin: Regarding good results, they could have been better. We wanted them to be better. True, some said the Russian economy would fall by 20 percent. There is a decline, indeed, but only 2.9 percent. Without a doubt, this is a big difference, and we know that those who predicted this scenario for us were sorely mistaken, while we did not make a mistake.

We cannot say that we are doing fine either, however, because there is a recession. But our situation is indeed better than in many other countries in several ways. Inflation, as I mentioned, will be a little over 12 percent, around 12.2–12.3 percent for the year, whereas in Europe it will be anywhere from 17 to 20 percent, even above 20 percent. This is absolutely off the scale for the European economy. This is clearly the case, no one made these numbers up. The same applies to food and construction, and I mentioned earlier as well.

Regarding the EAEU in general, the situation is stable. One of the key benchmarks, unemployment, is lower than in many other countries. What is this result based on? Well, it is based on the foundations of our economies, including the Russian economy in no small measure, and on the economic stabilisation measures that we are taking in Russia and the EAEU as a whole.

Unlike some countries, we are not closing down anything. We are not breaching market economy principles. We are not imposing any restrictions on ourselves. On the contrary, we are doing our best to ensure the free flow of capital, goods and labour. This is important for us and for our EAEU partners. It has practical importance.

Speaking of macroeconomic indicators, the stability of the Russian currency, the ruble, has a beneficial effect on our partners’ economies and financial systems.

Say, we are talking about unemployment. It is lower here than during the pandemic: 4.7 percent before the pandemic and 3.9 percent now. But it is vital for our EAEU partners. It is no secret that hundreds of thousands if not millions of citizens from these countries, our friends and partners, work in Russia. This means their labour is in demand. This means they are sending money [home] to support their families in their countries, and this money is a substantial part of revenues of this or that country. This is the next part.

One more component is the energy market. I have already said that gas prices in Europe are skyrocketing. They are already …1,700 [dollars for a thousand cubic metres], right?

What is the current price, Alexei?

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller: 1,500.

Vladimir Putin: No, no, it was 1,700 the day before yesterday.

The gas we sell to some countries is more than 10 times cheaper. Do you understand this? Not just ten times cheaper but more than 10 times cheaper. But this is a stabilising factor for the economies of our partners – they can forecast their development, support their households and manufacturing industries. They are all developing agriculture, in part, based on the chemical industry, based on fertilisers. All are developing fertilisers very fast. This is a very efficient industry.

We do not have any problems with basic products – we are exporters. We supply our partners with food as well and at quite affordable prices, wherever they need it.

This is how it all looks in a package. I would say that what also matters in the final result is the desire to work together and seek solutions, even where it took us years to reach them in the course of difficult talks, but this was the result. We are still figuring it out and coming to terms.

Therefore, all this taken together gives joint work a positive result. I really agree with this.

You have also asked me about our next steps, right?

Maria Sidibe: Yes. I asked what you think about the development of the organisation in the near future.

Vladimir Putin: Our next steps and development prospects. I think our prospects are very good, and our next steps are very specific.

The first thing we need to do, on which we agreed, and I think this is a very important agreement – we agreed to create a mechanism to support our cooperation activities in real production, in the industrial sector. I believe this is very important for enhancing our general technological self-sufficiency, our technological sovereignty. Incidentally, this is the result of our work today.

In the near future, the next couple of years or so, we must bring to life the earlier achieved agreements, such as to create a single gas market over the next two years, to identify the principles of its operation and to move on to building a common electricity market which is a critically important matter for us as well. It is hard work, and there are many questions related to coordinating our positions.

You know, we had a very good discussion about this, and many things became clear. It is not Russia's position to hold the line on prices, to raise prices, or not to send something to someone. No. It is a matter of price and, above all, a matter of coordinating economic policy.

Subsidising domestic prices is done at different levels, and different reasons are behind this approach, including socioeconomic and even political and historical reasons. In a given country, housing and utility prices are heavily subsidised, and these subsidies cannot be cancelled overnight due to a number of socio-political and even economic reasons. It takes time to get there. In another country, subsidies might be lower and prices are determined by the market.

Let's take transport tariffs. Look, tariffs are about the same anywhere you go in Russia. They may differ slightly, but we are trying to level them. Where would the cheapest gas be? A place that is the closest to the gas field with no transport expenses. Gas should be the cheapest in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area. But Russia is a vast country, and we cannot make gas cheap in only the Yamalo-Nenets Area and insanely expensive in the Far Eastern Federal District or on our western borders.

In fact, we subsidise transport costs for the end consumer. But in order for us to be able to talk about a single gas market, we must come up with common subsidising principles. Everyone understands this. This takes time, teamwork in the area of taxation, in our efforts to coordinate the rules and amend tax codes, and in the functioning of the tax system itself based on the latest technology. There are no differences or misunderstandings as to how we are supposed to get these results. All we need to do is work hard over the next two years. I think we will be able to achieve good results in many of these areas.

The prospects for expanding the transport infrastructure and supply chains are excellent. Many countries are interested in the new, modern North-South and East-West corridors. Everyone, even the countries that are not members of our organisation, are willing – if we go ahead with some of the earlier announced projects – to join us in co-financing, because it is a highly lucrative project.

We have lots of important and exciting projects that are of interest to all EAEU members. If there is interest, I am sure the organisation will become stronger, and these projects will get implemented.

Aysel Gereikhanova, Rossiyskaya Gazeta: A question about Viktor Bout. For a long time, Russia sought his exchange, and it has finally happened. I would like to hear the details: who led the talks, will they continue? And do these meetings on the exchange indicate that there is a chance to establish a broader dialogue with the Americans, or is this just about the swap?

And one more question: will Sergei Naryshkin's contacts with the head of the CIA continue?

Vladimir Putin: So, as far as swaps are concerned, this subject is being handled by us, in this case, it was handled by the Federal Security Service, the FSB. The FSB was agreeing on and negotiating this initially and achieved the results you have just heard about. The contacts continue; in fact, they never stopped at the level of special services.

Are other swaps possible? Yes, anything is possible. This is the result of talking and searching for compromise. In this case, compromises were found. We will not refuse to continue this work in the future.

Can this be considered a precedent to a dialogue with the United States on other issues? This is a special question, a specific one, frankly. We did not have the goal to move from these talks to other ones. Of course, they create a certain atmosphere, it is true; but no other issues were discussed as part of these talks. This is the first thing.

Second, regarding contacts between the special services, the Foreign Intelligence Service and the CIA, from one side and the other. This was not our initiative but was initiated by the American side. President Biden suggested this, and we agreed, as you can see. We generally did not expect anything supernatural from the talks; they were held in a normal working mode. The partners agreed that these meetings would continue.

Please.

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Pavel Zarubin, Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Good evening.

Back to oil and gas prices: the price cap on Russian oil introduced by the West is one of the most discussed global topics in the last few days.

There are already a lot of arguments about this, so I would like to ask such a specific question. How will we ultimately respond to this? Will this response be proportionate, symmetrical, asymmetrical? And what will happen to the Russian budget in the end? Will Russia have enough revenue?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Do not worry about this. The point is this: the proposed cap is in line with today’s prices. In this sense, this policy does not affect us in any way; frankly, it does not matter much to us.

Yes, formally, oil prices are a little higher, but they are a little lower for our blend. Brent prices are higher, and Urals prices are slightly lower, plus we offer discounts to many of our partners. Everything comes down to that number. We will not lose anything under any circumstance.

But this is not the point. This concerns not only us, but all producers, because if anyone ever agrees to consumers setting prices, it will destroy the industry, because consumers will always want low prices. Even without that, the industry is underinvested and underfunded, and if we heed what consumers are telling us, then the investment will come to nothing. At some point this will trigger a disastrous surge in prices and the global energy market will collapse. This is how it will end up. This proposal is stupid, ill-conceived and poorly evaluated. So, it is not about us, but about the overall situation in global energy and global energy markets. It [the proposal] is bad for global energy markets. Again, we are already selling at about these prices, so do not worry about the budget.

To reiterate, it would be a stupid thing to do for everyone, including consumers, to follow some kind of non-market, harmful decision. Consumers need to realise that if they insist on prices they like, even if they have these prices, prices will then plummet, investment will be reduced to zero, and ultimately the prices will skyrocket and this will backfire on those who are imposing these kinds of solutions.

With regard to our response, I said earlier that we will simply not sell energy resources to countries that adopt such policies. We will even think about – I am not saying we have decided on this – but we will think, if necessary, about a production cut. We have an agreement with OPEC Plus on a production target. We will give it further thought, if needed. I am talking about Russia now. Again, we are thinking about this, but no decisions have been made yet. Specific steps will be outlined in a Presidential Executive Order that will be issued soon.

Yes, please.

Konstantin Panyushkin, Channel One: Good afternoon.

A question about the special military operation.

What do you think about the status of the SMO?

Talking with human rights activists on Wednesday, you said, this is a quote: “This will be a lengthy process”. If possible, can you explain what you had in mind?

And another question from the same meeting. You said, and I quote: “If Russia does not use nuclear weapons first, it won’t use them second, either”. This caused an uproar. Please explain what you meant.

Vladimir Putin: As for the length of the SMO, I was referring to the time needed for the settlement process. The SMO is running its course and everything is stable – there are no questions or problems there now. As you can see, the Defence Ministry operates transparently. It reflects everything that is taking place in reality, on the ground, in its daily reports. This is how it stands, objectively, in this regard. I have nothing to add.

As for the settlement process in general – yes, it will probably be complicated and will take some time. But one way or another, the parties to this process will have to accept the realities that are taking shape on the ground. This is the first part of your question.

Now the second part. I understand that everyone is worried and has always been worried since the advent of nuclear arms, and weapons of mass destruction in general. People, all of humanity, have been concerned about what will happen to the planet and to us? But look what I had in mind, I will explain some things.

The United States has this theory of a preventive strike. This is the first point. Now the second point. They are developing a system for a disarming strike. What does that mean? It means striking at control centres with modern high-tech weapons to destroy the opponent’s ability to counterattack, and so on.

What are these modern weapons? These are cruise missiles that we did not have at one time – we did not have land-based cruise missiles. We removed them; we scrapped them. Meanwhile, the Americans were smarter at that time when they were holding talks with the Soviet Union. They scrapped land-based missiles but retained air- and sea-based missiles that were not covered by the treaty, and we became defenceless. But now we have them and they are more modern and even more efficient.

There were plans to deliver a preventive disarming strike with hypersonic weapons. The United States does not have these weapons, but we do. Regarding a disarming strike, perhaps we should think about using the achievements of our US partners and their ideas about how to ensure their own security. We are just thinking about this. No one was shy about discussing it out loud in the past. This is the first point.

The United States has a theory and even practice. They have the concept of a preventive strike in their strategy and other policy documents. We do not. Our Strategy talks about a retaliatory strike. There are no secrets whatsoever. What is a retaliatory strike? That is a response strike. It is when our early warning system, the missile attack warning system, detects missiles launched towards Russian Federation territory. First, it detects the launches, and then response actions begin.

We hold regular exercises of our nuclear forces. You can see them all, we are not hiding anything. We provide information under our agreements with all nuclear countries, including the United States. We inform our partners that we are conducting these exercises. Rest assured they do the exact same thing.

After the early warning system receives a signal indicating a missile attack, hundreds of our missiles are launched and they cannot be stopped. But it is still a retaliatory strike. What does that mean? It means that enemy missile warheads will fall on the territory of the Russian Federation. This cannot be avoided. They will fall anyway. True, nothing will remain of the enemy, because it is impossible to intercept hundreds of missiles. And this is, without a doubt, a potent deterrent.

But if a potential adversary believes it is possible to use the preventive strike theory, while we do not, this still makes us think about the threat that such ideas in the sphere of other countries’ defence pose to us.

That is all I have to say about that.

Yulia Bubnova, TASS: Good afternoon.

Angela Merkel said the other day that at the time the Minsk agreements were signed with the express purpose of giving Ukraine time to prepare and then to fight Russia.

Could you explain how we should understand this? Did we know that our partners were treating us in this way?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Honestly, this was a complete surprise to me. This is disappointing.

Frankly speaking, I did not expect to hear this from the former Federal Chancellor because I always thought that the leaders of the Federal Republic of Germany were sincere with us. Of course, they were on Ukraine’s side and supported Ukraine, but I still thought they had always been sincerely striving for a settlement on the principles which we had agreed on and which were accepted, including in the Minsk agreements.

What you have just said only shows that we did everything right by starting the special military operation. Why? Because it transpired that nobody was going to fulfil these Minsk agreements. The Ukrainian leaders also mentioned this, in the words of former President Poroshenko, who said he signed the agreements but was not going to fulfil them.

But I was still hoping that other participants in this process were sincere with us. It appears they were deceiving us as well. The only purpose was to pump arms into Ukraine and get it ready for hostilities. We are seeing this, yes. Apparently, we got our bearings too late, frankly. Perhaps we should have started all this sooner, but we still simply hoped to come to terms under these Minsk peace agreements.

What can one say to this? Of course, the issue of trust is at stake. Trust as such is already close to zero, but after such statements, the issue of trust is coming to the fore. How can we negotiate anything? What can we agree upon? Is it possible to come to terms with anyone, and where are the guarantees? This is, of course, a problem.

But eventually we will have to come to terms all the same. I have already said many times that we are ready for these agreements, we are open. But, naturally, all this makes us wonder with whom we are dealing.

I saw someone raise their hand. Please, go ahead.

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Edmund Zhelbunov, NTV: Thank you very much.

Mr President, a quick follow-up on the SMO. I could not help noticing the badge you are wearing today.

You recently said that there is definitely no need to resume the partial mobilisation at this point. To make it a little more specific, what factors could make you reconsider? Or, Russians definitely have nothing to worry about, even after the New Year celebrations?

Vladimir Putin: No, I do not see such factors today. Like I said, 300,000 men were called up as part of the mobilisation – let me say it again – 150,000 have been deployed with the force. Of those who are in the force, only half, or a little more, 77,000 are deployed with combat units. The other half are deployed with the second or third tier. Actually, they act as territorial troops, or engage in additional training. Another 150,000 are not even in the force yet. They are at the training grounds and training bases. What additional mobilisation? Half of all mobilised recruits can be considered a combat reserve. So, there is no reason to talk about an additional mobilisation. This is out of question as we speak.

Alexander Yunashev, Life: Will you let them go at some point? Is it necessary to replace them with someone else?

Vladimir Putin: You know, strange as it may seem, we also discussed this. We will have to see how it goes, how it develops. Perhaps it would make sense to replace some formations with others – in this case, they will still have the status of participants in hostilities. Some people may be still undergoing training say, in the Far East or Siberia, whereas others may be fighting in the zone of hostilities. These are different things. But it is necessary to look at all this. The Defence Ministry and the General Staff are thinking about this and will make a decision. At any rate, as for mobilisation, I think I have given an exhaustive answer to this question.

Let’s have another question, please.

Don Courter, Russia Today: Mr President, Josep Borrell said Africa supports Russia because of this – I quote: “You can consider that these people do not know where Donbass is or maybe they do not even know who Putin is”.

What is your response to this?

Vladimir Putin: Borrell is a big, major figure of our time, a political figure of our time, as Brezhnev was once described.

But people in Africa know what Russia is and where Russia is located. Africans know the role that Russia played in their liberation from colonialism. There is practically not a single African country that would not receive our support at one time – political, information, economic and sometimes military support. We have very stable, very kind and friendly relations with African nations and they continue.

If the people you were talking about knew where Africa is located and what state African nations are in, they would not have prevented the supplies of Russian food and Russian fertilisers from reaching the African continent. Eventually, the harvest in African countries and the saving of hundreds of thousands of people in Africa from starvation depend on these supplies.

Our fertilisers have not yet even left some seaports of European countries. Meanwhile, as I have said many times, we are ready to provide them to African countries free of charge. Partially this process got underway under pressure from the UN Secretary-General but the problem has not been resolved up to this day.

Let certain EU politicians stop chatting about their love of African nations and start giving direct support to them. Instead of buying up food on global markets using the money they are printing, instead of raising prices, fuelling inflation and putting African nations into a desperate situation, they should at least not get in Russia’s way and let it carry out this productive and intensive work that is needed by African nations and is designed to support the people who need it.

Let’s call it a day. Thank you very much.

Yes, Andrei, all right, go ahead. This will be the closing question.

Andrei Kolesnikov: Andrei Kolesnikov, Kommersant newspaper.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I know.

Andrei Kolesnikov: Today Ilya Yashin got…

Vladimir Putin: Who is he?

Andrei Kolesnikov: A blogger.

Vladimir Putin: What did he get?

Andrei Kolesnikov: He got 8.5 years under the fake news article. Don’t you think that 8.5 years for fake stories is a brutal sentence?

Vladimir Putin: You know what they say: anyone can speculate.

I received my basic education at Leningrad State University, and I will tell you that I think it is absolutely unacceptable to interfere in the work of the courts. I do not think it is appropriate to question court decisions; there are certain statutory rights to protect citizens in the way that they would like to do it. It may be possible to appeal to a higher court. Mr Yashin's lawyers probably know what they have to do.

Vera Desyatova, Vesti FM and Mayak radio stations: Could I ask one more question?

Vladimir Putin: Go ahead.

Vera Desyatova: Thank you very much.

Recently, there have been some conflicting reports about the army's supplies. You said that the problems are being addressed or have been addressed, but the stream of messages from the fighters on the frontline has not stopped. Our military correspondents and volunteers receive requests. They ask not only for uniforms, but also for medicines, because consumables run out very quickly.

And the question is: who should we trust? The Defence Ministry's reports or the soldiers on the frontline?

Vladimir Putin: You cannot trust anyone. Only I can be trusted. (Laughter.)

We work with the Defence Ministry on a regular basis. I discuss these issues with them almost every day. I have to say that there were problems indeed, and, judging by what you are saying, they probably persist. Although I am assured that they are becoming fewer and are no longer as acute as they were at the beginning of this process, especially related to mobilisation.

But from what you have said, and I think you are right, the problems are far from being completely resolved. But it is just a matter of time. The most acute ones, I think, have already been resolved, but some time is needed, of course, to speed up the relevant production sectors. And the Ministry of Industry is now actively involved in this.

Vladimir Putin: Go ahead, but this will be the last one.

Pavel Zarubin: Early this week you drove along Crimean Bridge. The Crimean Bridge project is something special to you. What were your impressions this time?

Vladimir Putin: Not just to me – but the country in general.

Pavel Zarubin: To you, to the country and to all of us.

Vladimir Putin: I just wanted, first of all, to support the builders and thank them, because they did so much within a short timeframe, and their work is of good quality. Of course, I wanted to see if this was true or not, because it is one thing, what is written on the official reports, that the work has been finished, and quite another when people who are not involved in it, provide you with information. It is important to have this information.

The same goes in this case, I mean the bridge, as I wanted to see it with my own eyes, how everything was done in reality. And indeed, in terms of quality and technology, the project was done at a top technical and technological level.

I said earlier – I do not know if people could hear me because of the strong wind – that two lanes in one direction were in good condition, but the builders still insisted that some centimetres or even millimetres of those lanes be improved, so they are up to standard, 100 percent. They will be doing this part as a preventive measure, so to say, and they obtained approval from me. They will now close two lanes or have already closed them, I do not know, and will be improving them to bring them up to standards, so they are 100 percent perfect.

There is another bridge above, as we actually have three bridges there, the other is the railway bridge; one track is fully functional and there is no tonnage limit on freight traffic. But the other track was largely damaged by fire because the train was standing and a fuel tank car was punctured, the fire caused the damage so it needs to be put in order.

They promise to finish repairing the highway sections in March; first, they planned to finish it later, but I was told they had promised to finish all work by the end of March. As for the [damaged] track on the railway bridge, they promise to finish repairs by mid-summer. True, first, they said this would happen by late autumn, but then they committed to finish it by mid-summer. I believe it will be done sometime next summer. Their work is of good quality. I have no doubt that everything will be done on schedule.

Thank you very much. All the best to you.

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Vertaling

Ter sprake komt o. a.

Economie

Vladimir Poetin: Wat de goede resultaten betreft, die hadden beter gekund. We wilden dat ze beter waren. Toegegeven, sommigen zeiden dat de Russische economie met 20 procent zou dalen. Er is weliswaar een daling, maar slechts 2,9 procent. Dit is zonder twijfel een groot verschil, en we weten dat degenen die dit scenario voor ons voorspelden zich ernstig vergist hebben, terwijl wij geen fout hebben gemaakt.

We kunnen echter ook niet zeggen dat we het goed doen, want er is sprake van een recessie. (...)
(...)
Sprekend over macro-economische indicatoren, de stabiliteit van de Russische munteenheid, de roebel, heeft een gunstig effect op de economieën en financiële systemen van onze partners.

(...)

(…) we kwamen overeen een mechanisme te creëren ter ondersteuning van onze samenwerkingsactiviteiten in reële productie, in de industriële sector. Ik denk dat dit erg belangrijk is voor het vergroten van onze algemene technologische zelfvoorziening, onze technologische soevereiniteit. (…)

Fossiele brandstoffen

Pavel Zarubin, Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Goedenavond,

Terug naar de olie- en gasprijzen: het door het Westen ingevoerde prijsplafond op Russische olie is een van de meest besproken mondiale onderwerpen van de afgelopen dagen. Er zijn al veel discussies hierover, dus ik zou graag een specifieke vraag willen stellen. Hoe gaan we hier uiteindelijk op reageren? Zal deze reactie proportioneel, symmetrisch, asymmetrisch zijn? En wat gebeurt er uiteindelijk met de Russische begroting? Zal Rusland genoeg inkomsten hebben?

Dank u.

Vladimir Poetin: Maak u zich hier geen zorgen over. Het punt is dit: de voorgestelde limiet is in lijn met de huidige prijzen. In die zin heeft dit beleid geen enkele invloed op ons; Eerlijk gezegd maakt het ons niet veel uit.

Ja, formeel zijn de olieprijzen iets hoger, maar voor ons mengel iets lager. Brent-prijzen zijn hoger en Oeral-prijzen iets lager, en we bieden kortingen aan veel van onze partners. Alles komt neer op dat cijfer. We zullen onder geen enkele omstandigheid iets verliezen.

Afrika en Rusland, economisch

Don Courter, Russia Today: President, Josep Borrell zei dat Afrika Rusland hierin steunt – ik citeer: “Je kunt bedenken dat deze mensen niet weten waar Donbass is of misschien weten ze niet eens wie Poetin is”. Wat is uw reactie hierop?

Vladimir Poetin: Borrell is een grote, belangrijke figuur van onze tijd, een politieke figuur van onze tijd, zoals Brezjnev ooit werd beschreven.

Maar mensen in Afrika weten wat Rusland is en waar Rusland ligt. Afrikanen kennen de rol die Rusland speelde bij hun bevrijding van het kolonialisme. Er is praktisch geen enkel Afrikaans land dat niet op een gegeven moment onze steun heeft gekregen – politieke, informatieve, economische en soms militaire steun. We hebben zeer stabiele, zeer vriendelijke en vriendschappelijke betrekkingen met Afrikaanse naties en die blijven bestaan.

Als de mensen waar u het over had wisten waar Afrika ligt en in welke toestand de Afrikaanse naties zich bevinden, dan zouden ze niet hebben voorkomen dat de voorraden Russisch voedsel en Russische meststoffen het Afrikaanse continent bereikten. Uiteindelijk zijn de oogsten in Afrikaanse landen en het redden van honderdduizenden mensen in Afrika van de hongerdood afhankelijk van deze bevoorrading.

Onze meststoffen hebben sommige zeehavens van Europese landen nog niet eens verlaten. Ondertussen zijn we, zoals ik al vaak heb gezegd, bereid om ze gratis aan Afrikaanse landen te verstrekken. Dit proces is gedeeltelijk op gang gekomen onder druk van de secretaris-generaal van de VN, maar het probleem is tot op de dag van vandaag niet opgelost.

Laat bepaalde EU-politici stoppen met praten over hun liefde voor Afrikaanse naties en hen directe steun gaan geven. In plaats van op de wereldmarkten voedsel op te kopen met het geld dat ze drukken, in plaats van de prijzen te verhogen, de inflatie aan te wakkeren en de Afrikaanse naties in een wanhopige situatie te brengen, zouden ze Rusland in ieder geval niet in de weg moeten staan en dit productieve en intensieve werk moeten laten doen, dat nodig is voor Afrikaanse landen en is ontworpen om de mensen te ondersteunen die het nodig hebben.

Atoomoorlog, strategieën VS en Rusland

Vladimir Poetin: De Verenigde Staten hebben deze theorie van een preventieve aanval. Dit is het eerste punt. Nu het tweede punt. Ze ontwikkelen een systeem voor een ontwapenende aanval. Wat betekent dat? Het betekent aanvallen op controlecentra met moderne hightech wapens om het vermogen van de tegenstander om een tegenaanval te doen te vernietigen, enzovoort.

Wat zijn deze moderne wapens? Dit zijn kruisraketten die we voorheen niet hadden – we hadden geen kruisraketten op het land. We hebben ze verwijderd; we hebben ze gesloopt. Ondertussen waren de Amerikanen slimmer toen ze gesprekken voerden met de Sovjet-Unie. Ze schrapten landraketten, maar behielden lucht- en zeeraketten die niet onder het verdrag vielen, en we werden weerloos. Maar nu hebben we ze en ze zijn moderner en nog efficiënter.

Er waren plannen om een preventieve ontwapeningsaanval uit te voeren met hypersonische wapens. De Verenigde Staten hebben deze wapens niet, maar wij wel. Wat een ontwapeningsaanval betreft, moeten we er misschien over nadenken wat onze Amerikaanse partners bereikt hebben en hun ideeën over hoe ze hun eigen veiligheid kunnen waarborgen te gebruiken. We denken hier alleen over na. In het verleden was niemand verlegen om het hardop te bespreken. Dit is het eerste punt.

De Verenigde Staten hebben een theorie en zelfs een praktijk. Ze hebben het concept van een preventieve aanval in hun strategie en andere beleidsdocumenten. Wij hebben dat niet. Onze strategie spreekt over een vergeldingsactie. Er zijn geen geheimen. Wat is een vergeldingsactie? Dat is een reactieve aanval.

(...)

Maar als een potentiële tegenstander denkt dat het mogelijk is om de theorie van preventieve aanvallen te gebruiken, terwijl wij dat niet doen, dan zet dat ons toch aan het denken over de dreiging die dergelijke ideeën op het gebied van de verdediging van andere landen voor ons vormen.

Minsk

[De Minsk-akkoorden zijn besproken in Oekraïne, geopolitiek en het moorddadige Westen in post #154]

Yulia Bubnova, TASS: Goedenmiddag.

Angela Merkel zei onlangs dat de akkoorden van Minsk destijds werden ondertekend met het uitdrukkelijke doel Oekraïne de tijd te geven zich voor te bereiden en vervolgens Rusland te bevechten.

Kunt u uitleggen hoe we dit moeten begrijpen? Wisten we dat onze partners ons op deze manier behandelden?

Dank u.

Vladimir Poetin: Eerlijk gezegd was dit een complete verrassing voor mij. Dit is teleurstellend.

Eerlijk gezegd had ik dit niet verwacht van de voormalige bondskanselier, omdat ik altijd dacht dat de leiders van de Bondsrepubliek Duitsland oprecht jegens ons waren. Natuurlijk stonden ze aan de kant van Oekraïne en steunden ze Oekraïne, maar ik dacht toch dat ze altijd oprecht hadden gestreefd naar een regeling op basis van de beginselen waarover we het eens waren en die werden aanvaard, ook in de akkoorden van Minsk.

Wat u zojuist zei, toont alleen maar aan dat we alles goed hebben gedaan door de speciale militaire operatie te starten. Waarom? Omdat bleek dat niemand deze Minsk-afspraken zou nakomen. Dat zeiden de Oekraïense leiders ook, in de woorden van oud-president Porosjenko, die zei dat hij de akkoorden ondertekende maar ze niet zou nakomen.

Maar ik hoopte nog steeds dat andere deelnemers aan dit proces oprecht jegens ons waren. Het lijkt erop dat ze ons ook bedrogen. Het enige doel was om wapens naar Oekraïne te pompen en het gereed te maken voor vijandelijkheden. We zien dit, ja. Eerlijk gezegd kwamen we blijkbaar te laat. Misschien hadden we hier allemaal eerder mee moeten beginnen, maar we hoopten gewoon nog steeds tot overeenstemming te komen onder deze vredesakkoorden van Minsk.

Wat kan men hierop zeggen? Natuurlijk staat de kwestie van vertrouwen op het spel. Vertrouwen op zich is al bijna nul, maar na dergelijke uitspraken komt het probleem van vertrouwen naar voren. Hoe kunnen we ergens over onderhandelen? Wat kunnen we afspreken? Is het mogelijk om met iemand in het reine te komen en waar zijn de garanties? Dit is natuurlijk een probleem.

Maar uiteindelijk zullen we toch tot overeenstemming moeten komen. Ik heb al vaak gezegd dat we klaar zijn voor deze afspraken, we zijn open. Maar dit alles doet ons natuurlijk afvragen met wie we te maken hebben.

[Olive Yao]

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Commentaar

[Olive Yao]

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31 december 2022

New Year Address to the Nation

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Citizens of Russia, friends,

The year 2022 is drawing to a close. It was a year of difficult but necessary decisions, of important steps towards Russia's full sovereignty and a powerful consolidation of our society.

It was a year that put many things in their place, and drew a clear line between courage and heroism, on the one hand, and betrayal and cowardice on the other, showed us that there is nothing stronger than love for our near and dear, loyalty to our friends and comrades-in-arms, and devotion to our Fatherland.

It was a year of truly pivotal, even fateful events. They became the frontier where we lay the foundation for our common future, our true independence.

This is what we are fighting for today, protecting our people in our historical territories in the new regions of the Russian Federation. Together, we are building and creating.

Russia’s future is what matters the most. Defending our Motherland is the sacred duty we owe to our ancestors and descendants. The moral and historical truth is on our side.

The outgoing year has brought great and dramatic changes to our country and to the world. It was filled with uncertainty, anxiety and worry.

But our multiethnic nation showed great courage and dignity as it had in every challenging period in Russian history, supported the defenders of our Fatherland, our soldiers and officers, and all participants in the special military operation, in both word and deed.

We have always known that Russia's sovereign, independent and secure future depends only on us, on our strength and determination, and today, we have become convinced of it once again.

For years, Western elites hypocritically assured us of their peaceful intentions, including to help resolve the serious conflict in Donbass. But in fact, they encouraged the neo-Nazis in every possible way, who continued to take military and overtly terrorist action against peaceful civilians in the people's republics of Donbass.

The West lied to us about peace while preparing for aggression, and today, they no longer hesitate to openly admit it and to cynically use Ukraine and its people as a means to weaken and divide Russia. We have never allowed anyone to do this and we will not allow it now.

Russian servicemen, militiamen and volunteers are now fighting for their homeland, for truth and justice, for reliable guarantees of peace and Russia’s security. They are all our heroes and they are shouldering the heaviest burden right now.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish a very happy New Year to every participant in the special military operation, to those who are here next to me now, and who are on the frontline, those getting ready for action at training centres, those who are in hospitals or already back home, having fulfilled their duty, to all those now on combat duty in strategic units, and all personnel of the Russian Armed Forces.

Comrades,

thank you for your valiant service. Our entire vast country is proud of your fortitude, endurance and courage. Millions of people are with you in their hearts and souls, and will be raising a toast to you at their New Year's table.

Many thanks to everyone who provides ancillary support for military operations: drivers and railway workers who deliver supplies to the front, doctors, paramedics, and nurses who are fighting for soldiers’ lives and nursing wounded civilians. I thank the workers and engineers at our military and other plants who are working today with great dedication, builders who are erecting civilian facilities and defensive fortifications, and helping to restore the destroyed cities and villages in Donbass and Novorossiya.

Friends,

Russia has been living under sanctions since the events in Crimea in 2014, but this year, a full-blown sanctions war has been unleashed against us. Those who started it expected our industry, finances and transport to collapse and never recover.

This did not happen, because together we created a reliable margin of safety. We have been taking steps and measures towards strengthening our sovereignty in a vitally important field, in the economy. Our struggle for our country, for our interests and for our future undoubtedly serves as an inspiring example for other states in their quest for a just multipolar world order.

I consider it very important that in the outgoing year, such qualities as mercy, solidarity and proactive empathy have become especially important in Russia. More and more Russians feel the need to help others. They rally together and take initiative without any formal instructions.

I want to thank you for being so considerate, responsible and kind, for your active involvement in the common cause regardless of age or income. You arrange warehouses and transport to deliver parcels to our fighters in the combat zone, to the residents of affected cities and towns, and help organise holidays for children from the new constituent entities of the Federation.

My friends, you are providing great support to the families of the fighters who perished, who gave their lives defending the lives of others.

I know how difficult it is for their wives, sons and daughters, and for their parents, who raised real heroes; I understand how they feel now, on New Year's Eve. We will make every effort to help the families of our fallen comrades raise their children, give them a good education, and get a profession.

With all my heart, I share your pain and ask you to accept my sincere words of support.

Friends,

Our country has always celebrated the start of the New Year, even during very difficult times. It has always been everyone’s favourite holiday, and has a magical power to reveal the best in people, to heighten the importance of traditional family values, the energy of kindness, generosity and trust.

As we see the New Year in, everyone strives to give joy to their loved ones, to show them attention and warmth, to give them presents they have been dreaming of, to see the delight in children’s eyes and parents’ touching gratitude for our attention. The older generation knows how to appreciate such moments of happiness.

Friends, now is the best moment to leave all personal grievances and misunderstandings in the past, to tell our nearest and dearest how we feel, how much we love them, how important it is to take care of each other – always, at any time.

Let these heartfelt words and noble feelings give each of us immense strength and confidence that together, we will overcome all the challenges and keep our country great and independent.

We will only move forward, to fight for our families and for Russia, for the future of our only, beloved Motherland.

Happy New Year, friends! Happy 2023!

[Olive Yao]

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Vertaling

[Olive Yao]

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Commentaar

[Olive Yao]

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21 februari 2023

Toespraak van de President voor de Federale Vergadering

Gostinyi Dvor, Moskou

President Vladimir Poetin:

Good afternoon,

Members of the Federation Assembly – senators, State Duma deputies,

Citizens of Russia,

This Presidential Address comes, as we all know, at a difficult, watershed period for our country. This is a time of radical, irreversible change in the entire world, of crucial historical events that will determine the future of our country and our people, a time when every one of us bears a colossal responsibility.

One year ago, to protect the people in our historical lands, to ensure the security of our country and to eliminate the threat coming from the neo-Nazi regime that had taken hold in Ukraine after the 2014 coup, it was decided to begin the special military operation. Step by step, carefully and consistently we will deal with the tasks we have at hand.

Since 2014, Donbass has been fighting for the right to live in their land and to speak their native tongue. It fought and never gave up amid the blockade, constant shelling and the Kiev regime’s overt hatred. It hoped and waited that Russia would come to help.

In the meantime, as you know well, we were doing everything in our power to solve this problem by peaceful means, and patiently conducted talks on a peaceful solution to this devastating conflict.

Behind our backs, a very different plan was being hatched. As we can see now, the promises of Western leaders, their assurances that they were striving for peace in Donbass turned out to be a sham and outright lies. They were simply marking time, engaged in political chicanery, turning a blind eye to the Kiev regime’s political assassinations and reprisals against undesirable people, their mistreatment of believers. They increasingly incited the Ukrainian neo-Nazis to stage terrorist attacks in Donbass. The officers of nationalist battalions trained at Western academies and schools. Weapons were also supplied.

I would like to emphasise that, prior to the special military operation, Kiev held negotiations with the West about the delivery of air-defence systems, warplanes and other heavy equipment to Ukraine. We also recall the Kiev regime’s vain attempts to obtain nuclear weapons; they discussed this issue publicly.

The United States and NATO quickly deployed their army bases and secret biological laboratories near Russian borders. They mastered the future theatre of war during war games, and they prepared the Kiev regime which they controlled and Ukraine which they had enslaved for a large-scale war.

Now they admit this publicly and openly, and they feel no shame about it. They seem to be proud and even to be revelling in their own perfidy, while calling the Minsk Agreements and the Normandy Format a diplomatic show and a bluff. It turns out that all this time, while Donbass was ablaze, while blood was being spilled, and while Russia sincerely made every effort to achieve a peaceful solution (I want to emphasise the word “sincerely”), they gambled on people’s lives, and in effect, were playing with marked cards, as they say in certain circles.

This appalling method of deception has been tried and tested many times before. They behaved just as shamelessly and duplicitously when destroying Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. They will never be able to wash off this shame. The concepts of honour, trust, and decency are not for them.

Over the long centuries of colonialism, diktat and hegemony, they got used to being allowed everything, got used to spitting on the whole world. It turned out that they treat people living in their own countries with the same disdain, like a master. After all, they cynically deceived them too, tricked them with tall stories about the search for peace, about adherence to the UN Security Council resolutions on Donbass. Indeed, the Western elites have become a symbol of total, unprincipled lies.

We firmly defend our interests as well as our belief that in today’s world there should be no division into so-called civilised countries and all the rest and that there is a need for an honest partnership that rejects any exclusivity, especially an aggressive one.

We were open and sincerely ready for a constructive dialogue with the West; we said and insisted that both Europe and the whole world needed an indivisible security system equal for all countries, and for many years we suggested that our partners discuss this idea together and work on its implementation. But in response, we received either an indistinct or hypocritical reaction, as far as words were concerned. But there were also actions: NATO’s expansion to our borders, the creation of new deployment areas for missile defence in Europe and Asia – they decided to take cover from us under an ‘umbrella’ – deployment of military contingents, and not just near Russia’s borders.

I would like to stress – in fact, this is well-known – that no other country has so many military bases abroad as the United States. There are hundreds of them – I want to emphasise this – hundreds of bases all over the world; the planet is covered with them, and one look at the map is enough to see this.

The whole world witnessed how they withdrew from fundamental agreements on weapons, including the treaty on intermediate and shorter-range missiles, unilaterally tearing up the fundamental agreements that maintain world peace. For some reason, they did it. They do not do anything without a reason, as we know.

Finally, in december 2021, we officially submitted draft agreements on security guarantees to the USA and NATO. In essence, all key, fundamental points were rejected. After that it finally became clear that the go-ahead for the implementation of aggressive plans had been given and they were not going to stop.

The threat was growing by the day. Judging by the information we received, there was no doubt that everything would be in place by February 2022 for launching yet another bloody punitive operation in Donbass. Let me remind you that back in 2014, the Kiev regime sent its artillery, tanks and warplanes to fight in Donbass.

We all remember the aerial footage of airstrikes targeting Donetsk. Other cities also suffered from airstrikes. In 2015, they tried to mount a frontal assault against Donbass again, while keeping the blockade in place and continuing to shell and terrorise civilians. Let me remind you that all of this was completely at odds with the documents and resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, but everyone pretended that nothing was happening.

Let me reiterate that they were the ones who started this war, while we used force and are using it to stop the war.

Those who plotted a new attack against Donetsk in the Donbass region, and against Lugansk understood that Crimea and Sevastopol would be the next target. We realised this as well. Even today, Kiev is openly discussing far-reaching plans of this kind. They exposed themselves by making public what we knew already.

We are defending human lives and our common home, while the West seeks unlimited power. It has already spent over $150 billion on helping and arming the Kiev regime. To give you an idea, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the G7 countries earmarked about $60 billion in 2020–2021 to help the world’s poorest countries. Is this clear? They spent $150 billion on the war, while giving $60 billion to the poorest countries, despite pretending to care about them all the time, and also conditioning this support on obedience on behalf of the beneficiary countries. What about all this talk of fighting poverty, sustainable development and protection of the environment? Where did it all go? Has it all vanished? Meanwhile, they keep channelling more money into the war effort. They eagerly invest in sowing unrest and encouraging government coups in other countries around the world.

The recent Munich Conference turned into an endless stream of accusations against Russia. One gets the impression that this was done so that everyone would forget what the so-called West has been doing over the past decades. They were the ones who let the genie out of the bottle, plunging entire regions into chaos.

According to US experts, almost 900,000 people were killed during wars unleashed by the United States after 2001, and over 38 million became refugees. Please note, we did not invent these statistics; it is the Americans who are providing them. They are now simply trying to erase all this from the memory of humankind, and they are pretending that all this never happened. However, no one in the world has forgotten this or will ever forget it.

None of them cares about human casualties and tragedies because many trillions of dollars are at stake, of course. They can also continue to rob everyone under the guise of democracy and freedoms, to impose neoliberal and essentially totalitarian values, to brand entire countries and nations, to publicly insult their leaders, to suppress dissent in their own countries and to divert attention from corruption scandals by creating an enemy image. We continue to see all this on television, which highlights greater domestic economic, social and inter-ethnic problems, contradictions and disagreements.

I would like to recall that, in the 1930s, the West had virtually paved the way to power for the Nazis in Germany. In our time, they started turning Ukraine into an “anti-Russia.” Actually, this project is not new. People who are knowledgeable about history at least to some extent realise that this project dates back to the 19th century. The Austro-Hungarian Empire and Poland had conceived it for one purpose, that is, to deprive Russia of these historical territories that are now called Ukraine. This is their goal. There is nothing new here; they are repeating everything.

The West expedited the implementation of this project today by supporting the 2014 coup. That was a bloody, anti-state and unconstitutional coup. They pretended that nothing happened, and that this is how things should be. They even said how much money they had spent on it. Russophobia and extremely aggressive nationalism formed its ideological foundation.

Quite recently, a brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was named Edelweiss after a Nazi division whose personnel were involved in deporting Jews, executing prisoners of war and conducting punitive operations against partisans in Yugoslavia, Italy, Czechoslovakia and Greece. We are ashamed to talk about this, but they are not. Personnel serving with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ukrainian National Guard are particularly fond of chevrons formerly worn by soldiers from Das Reich, Totenkopf (Death’s Head) and Galichina divisions and other SS units. Their hands are also stained with blood. Ukrainian armoured vehicles feature insignia of the Nazi German Wehrmacht.

Neo-Nazis are open about whose heirs they consider themselves to be. Surprisingly, none of the powers that be in the West are seeing it. Why? Because they – pardon my language – could not care less about it. They do not care who they are betting on in their fight against us, against Russia. In fact, anyone will do as long as they fight against us and our country. Indeed, we saw terrorists and neo-Nazis in their ranks. They would let all kinds of ghouls join their ranks, for God’s sake, as long as they act on their will as a weapon against Russia.

In fact, the anti-Russia project is part of the revanchist policy towards our country to create flashpoints of instability and conflicts next to our borders. Back then, in the 1930s, and now the design remains the same and it is to direct aggression to the East, to spark a war in Europe, and to eliminate competitors by using a proxy force.

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