Russian President Vladimir Putin has held his lengthy, annual and live Q&A session. Some two million questions for the president have been submitted.
14 April 2016
Putin’s Q&A session has been completed. It has lasted 3 hours and 39 minutes. The president answered some 80 questions.
Vladimir Putin believes it’s too early to speak about the Russian presidential elections of 2018.
Putin has warned the US against repeating in Syria the mistake made in Libya. Barack Obama’s confession about Libya being his “greatest mistake” shows the US president is a “decent person.”
The demand for Russian arms has grown sharply following the operation in Syria, Putin said, adding that Moscow is likely to sign more arms contract with foreign partners.
Combat usage of Russian weapons exposed certain deficiencies and shortfalls, some of which were fixed by specialists assigned from arms producers in Syria. Some repairs continue right now, Putin said.
Putin has warned that the sensitive issue of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be dealt with extremely carefully. The main principle is not to cause harm.
“Russia needs a stable and prosperous Ukraine. We’re interested in Ukraine getting up on its feet,” Putin said, adding that he “thinks nothing” about the new Ukrainian government appointed today.
“What could I think? I don’t know it, its composition, priorities and plans,” Putin said.
Putin accused Kiev of not fulfilling its obligations under the Minsk Accords, including the pending changes to the Ukrainian Constitution. “We cannot do that, anyway,” he said.
The West should maintain proactive relations with Kiev authorities to enforce the implementation of Minsk Accords and avoid performing “same old song and dance,” Putin said.
He said that the crisis in Ukraine was artificial and said that the same oligarchs remain in power there.
“I hope the leader of Chechnya and leaders of other Russian regions realize the extent of their responsibility towards people living in their regions and all of Russia,” Putin said, stressing that extreme forms of expression of personal attitude do not promote stability in the country. “On the contrary, it damages stability.”
Vladimir Putin reminded the audience that Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, once took part in guerilla warfare against Russian troops, along with his father.
Kadyrov’s path to the top of Russian politics was anything but simple, yet he made his choice and is now convinced that Chechnya should be a part of Russia.
Putin answered a question on the potential dangers of palm oil. There is some cheating if you add it to cheese or other dairy products, Putin said. Of course you could put this warning on a pack, and make it mandatory for manufacturers to write it on the packaging material. This is something that the Eurasian Economic Union needs to do.
Putin says he does not believe that Russia's partners will lift the sanctions or restrictions they imposed anytime soon, despite the fact that the Minsk Agreement will largely be implemented. This will mean that we will maintain our sanctions against their products, Putin said.
The ruling United Russia party will get no preferential treatment at the upcoming parliamentary elections, Putin assured.
Putin has answered 40 questions during the first two hours of his Q&A.
Russia cooperates with the US in the fight against terrorism, regarding the Iranian dossier, on Syria and on non-proliferation, Putin said.
He added, however, that the US shouldn’t act from the position of force and imperial ambitions, but respect their partners, including Russia, instead.
The Panama Papers leak was prepared not by journalists, but by lawyers, messing up the issue. The owner of the German paper that published the scandalous Panama Papers material is American investment giant Goldman Sachs, Putin has said.
The closer the parliamentary election in Russia becomes, the more stove-piping will take place, he predicted.
Musician Sergey Roldugin, named in the so-called Panama Papers leak as person operating offshore accounts, actually spent all of the money on buying unique music instruments abroad. He then brought them to Russia, and he still owes a certain amount of money for them. He is now preparing the necessary paperwork to hand them over to state institutions, Putin said.
Putin is worried about growing waste that is unrecycled in Russia and called on the All-Russia People’s Front to monitor the situation.
“We produce 5.4 - 5.6 billion tons of waste annually, only half of it is recycled, another half is buried,” he said, mentioning that criminal elements are involved.
The decision to add meldonium to a list of stimulants prohibited in professional sports was unlikely political, Putin has said. Russia should cooperate more closely with international sports organizations and react to their demands.
Putin has said that “everything is fine” in his personal life and that he sees his former wife occasionally, noting that they enjoy friendly relations, which today are “probably better than before.”
“I know she’s fine and lives a fulfilled life. So do I,” Putin said.
Russia and Egypt need to find a solution to ensure a safe way of operating flights for Russian tourists, Putin said. As of now, Egypt still remains a dangerous destination for traveling, he added.
“No security algorithm with our Egyptian colleagues has been found yet, but our special services are working on this question in cooperation with Egyptian counterparts,” Putin stressed.
Political settlement, not military action, is the key to the peace process in Syria, Putin believes.
“It is necessary to hold talks, adopt a Constitution, hold early election on its basis – this is a way out of the crisis.”
Answering a question from a 12-year-old girl, who asked the president to decide who he would likely save from drowning if the presidents of Turkey and Ukraine, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Petro Poroshenko respectively, were drowning together, Putin answered that Russia’s ready to extend a hand of friendship to any politician really willing to accept it.
“Those who decided they'd like to drown cannot be saved,” Putin said.
There's in fact a civil war going on in southern Turkey.
There are no security guarantees for Russians in Turkey. The Turkish leadership will seek to ensure the safety of tourists, but the big question is whether they will succeed in doing this.
The Turkish leadership fights the radicals less than it cooperates with them, Putin has stated.
Putin says he is sure that Russia is currently not and will not find itself in a “hostile ring.”
Turkey and its people are Russia's friends, but there are some problems with certain Turkish politicians, whose behavior is somewhat inadequate, Putin has said.
Instead of printing the money, we should change the structure of our economy, Putin says. "The most important thing is not to print the money, but to change the structure of our economy," he has said, adding the latter is a “real challenge.”
Former Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin may be appointed deputy director of the Presidential Council on Economy, Putin has said, adding he values Kudrin's contributions in developing the Russian economy.
Putin warned that if Islamic State activities are left unattended, the group might gain strength again, so Russia is going to keep a close eye on the matter to prevent the terrorists from regrouping. After the general withdrawal of the Russian Air Force from Syria, the regular troops of the Syrian government have been strengthening their fighting capacity, he said.
Syria’s patchy opposition is attempting to recover ground and redress the situation, Putin said.
The major problem for the Russian economy is to ensure the inflow of investments, guarantee the demand and raise the income of the population.
Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves are enough to keep the country functioning for at least four months, even if all economy activities come to a full stop, Putin said.
The Russian economy has entered a “gray period,” Putin said, the situation has not improved at large yet, but the general trend is positive.
The Russian president says a spike in food prices, 2.2 percent at the beginning of the year, resulted from measures aimed at supporting agriculture. Vladimir Putin says Russian authorities must pay special attention to food prices. Rising food prices are a temporary phenomenon, prices will stabilize, Putin promises.
The Q&A session has started.